He Seconds That Emotion

By: Anni LayneWed Dec 19, 2007 at 8:37 AM

Almost 20 years ago, Scott Fahlman decided that people using computer-based communications needed a way to express emotions. His solution? The now ubiquitous emoticon. Here's why the man who brought the smiley face to the Net is still smiling.

People really do care. But does popularity make emoticons a viable and valuable linguistic phenomenon? Will smiley go down in history as the spokesman of the Internet revolution? Fahlman certainly hopes not. With a PhD in artificial intelligence from MIT and more than 30 years of academic research under his belt, the emoticon originator hopes to be remembered for more than his way with colons and dashes. Especially since he isn't earning any royalties.

"I don't want this emoticon to be the most important thing I do in my career," Fahlman says. Like it or not, Fahlman's invention continues to save modern-day Swifts and Twains from getting roasted, broiled, or just plain flamed for their biting sense of humor.

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