I remember when I first saw an emoticon. Smileys were starting to become common in emails from friends. I had been online chatting for a few months and really loving it. It was great to be able to talk to friends while we were both working. We could tell each other amusing things about our day or comment on how bored we were. One day there was a little picture along with the text. I was delighted. I needed to know how it was made. Soon my friends and I were sending emoticons back and forth to each other all day. We would try to find hidden emoticons by typing all kinds things inside parenthesis. A few times we would try to have conversations using only emoticons. That was interesting. Now it's even better because we can put our own avatars next to our names while chatting. I can't wait to see what they think up next.