Facebook chat emoticons – some history

The launch of Facebook chat brought about a cataclysmic shift in the world of online communication and social networking, not to mention when people found all of the Facebook chat emoticons. Nobody previously had considered the possibility that a social network, such as Facebook or Myspace, would try to eat into the online live chat service which was being offered by companies such as MSN and Yahoo Messenger.

When people first saw Facebook chat, they didn’t know what to expect, and so some were initially underwhelmed. They thought that the fulyl javascript coded engine lacked a little bit of the speed and quickness which we always associate with Facebook products. It was indeed the speed and simplicity of Facebook’s overall design which allowed it to become the most popular social network in the universe. Let me explain:

Five years ago, Myspace was certainly the best and most popular social network on the planet. It was so huge that companies invested millions just to be associated with its brand power and its expanding client base. It had a problem, however – the people who were online and communicating with it were young, and they demanded extreme levels of customization on their pages. It wasn’t long before the once attractive site became clogged with shiny glitter graphics and flash plugins and widgets which broke some people’s homepages and disrupted the user experience for people who were browsing the site.

Facebook changed all of that. With a cleaner design and a calm exterior, it managed to attract key market segments to its product, and away from Myspace. As anyone who follows social networking knows, there are tipping points which, once crossed, can not be reversed. People left Myspace’s immature product and found a new, untarnished home.

The natural progression for Facebook, after becoming the market leader, was to add services which its users would need – and that happened to be live chat. It was a master-stroke, and their software quickly became one of the most used on the internet. They managed to replicate the clean design and layout, and focus on their key product which is communication.

Facebook chat emoticons

One thing that surprised a lot of technology insiders and analysts was the lack of emoticons for Facebook chat. Smileys have been an integral part of the social media landscape ever since MSN launched more than ten years ago, and so many people were stunned when there was no list of Facebook chat emoticons. This turned out to be another clever move by the blue and white monster, however.

There were smileys and emotions included in the software, however they were hidden from view. To find them the users just needed to learn certain key combinations, to insert them into their chats. How were they found? Trial and error – but luckily we’ve noted down all of the possible Facebook chat emoticons so that you don’t need to worry about it!

There is quite a range of smilies available for you to use in your conversations. The range is from ‘traditional’ (we might term these as some emotes that you can find in other chat programs, software or social networking sites) to ‘innovative’ (ones that Facebook decided to add because they wanted to set new levels of cool in their site). They work extremely well together, and they give the users the exact range of fun and enjoyment, but maintaining Facebook’s mature and cool exterior!

As previously mentioned, you can find all of the Facebook chat emoticons in future posts, but for now let us know if you have any more information about the history of the company in the comments section!

source: http://www.facebookchatemoticons.org/emoticons/facebook-chat-emoticons-some-history/