Showing Some Emotion - Blackberry dummies 2 Manual

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Part II: Getting Organized and Online with Your Storm

Showing some emotion

Written words can get folks into trouble every now and then; the same words
can mean different things to different people. A simple example is the phrase
"You're clueless." When you speak such a phrase with the appropriate facial
and hand gestures, your friend knows that you're teasing and that it's all a bit
of fun. Write that same phrase in a text message, and . . . well, you may get a
nasty reply — which you then have to respond to, which prompts another
response, and soon enough, you've just ended a seven-year friendship.
SMS is akin to chatting, so emoticons show what you mean when you write
"You're clueless." (I'm joking! I'm happy! I'm mad!) These cutesy codes help
you telegraph your meaning in sledgehammer-to-the-forehead fashion.
We're talking smileys here — those combinations of keyboard characters
that, when artfully combined, resemble a human face. The most popular
example — one that you've probably encountered in e-mails from especially
chirpy individuals — is the happy face, which (usually at the end of a state-
ment) conveys good intentions or happy context, like this :). (Tilt your head
to the left to see the face.)
Table 8-2 shows you the range of smiley choices. Just remember that smileys
are supposed to be fun. They could be the one thing you need to make sure
that your "gently teasing remark" isn't seen as a hateful comment. Smileys
help, but if you aren't sure if what you're about to send can be misconstrued
even with the help of the smileys, just don't send it.
Your BlackBerry Storm also comes with a handful of smileys. While you're
on the conversation or chat screen, press the menu key and touch-press Add
Smiley to choose an available smiley.
Table 8-2
Smiley Meaning
:) Happy, smiling
:-) Happy, smiling,
with nose
:D Laughing
:-D Laughing, with
nose
Smileys and Their Meanings
Smiley
:(
:-(
:-<
:'-(
Meaning
Sad, frown
Sad, frown, with nose
Super sad
Crying