New Social Etiquette: Part 2 - Emoticons

Maybe when you first saw this ;-) or this :-( little guy in one of your emails you thought, that's cute. Or maybe you asked yourself, is that appropriate to add to the end of a business email? Now quite colorful and animated, emoticons have grown more acceptable but should definitely be used with caution. For example, while the classic smiley face is ok, a kissy face is certainly not. And you may think it funny to add a wink to the end of a slightly humorous email, but be sure to leave out the emoticon sticking out its tongue since we're no longer in grade school. Also, consider the fact that the tone of email is always open to interpretation (over a voice on the phone) so forget about using angry or indifferent faces as a client or vendor may think this is how you feel towards them.