Just a reminder to all you U.S. citizens out there... new Independence Day gidgets are now available over at Webfetti. (Gidgets = widgets + games + Sally Field cool factor.)

Way back in the 80s when I worked on movies, between those gigs I worked as a freelancer and contractor at MTV in practically every division of the company. Whether it was coordinating a project, matching music to a promotion, being in the studio with the VJs, or having a hand in programming the videos that were broadcast, I always found something to do.

On this particular day I was working in the Talent Relations department when the phone rang. I picked it up and the guy on the other end said he was George Carlin. I knew it was him immediately. I’d heard his voice thousands of times as I listened to his albums growing up, especially the one where he spoke those legendary 7 words you can't say on television. To this day I can rattle them off in perfect Carlin cadence (I’ll spare you that).

The man was an inspiration to me – to the point where I even performed stand-up in New York. His wonderful parody about weather forecasters (where else can you consistently be wrong and still keep your job?) as the "Hippy Dippy Weather Man," Al Sleet, inspired me to do a weather rap which was part of my act. Wow! Now he was on the phone and I was talking with him! Hangin' out with George Carlin! Okay, so we really weren't hangin' out but you get the picture.

He asked if he could get a particular video clip of an act on an MTV awards show. I would have been more than happy to help him, but the trouble was we had a strict policy not to fulfill such requests as we received many of them and we didn’t have the staff and the ability to provide such a service. Remember, this is in the mid 80s. There are no DVDs, let alone recorders. No iTunes. No You Tube. No Vimeo. Heck! Forget the Web as we know it. It didn't exist! It would be like saying that today 3D images can be projected into your living room from a TV that lets you have conversations with the characters. Fact was, the only way you could get a clip was if your VCR was set or running – and even then the quality stunk.

I told Carlin I would do everything in my power (which wasn’t much) to help him get the clip. It would be just a small token of my appreciation for all the laughter he gave me. He said “Thanks” and then I put him on hold to find out what I needed to do. Two minutes later – which is a long freakin’ time, I got back on the phone and he was still there. I told him I found the right person he needed to speak to and he said how much he appreciated it. Having worked on movies, I got to meet many cultural icons and always got a kick out of it. I was never jaded, but when George Carlin said how much he appreciated my help, that was something special.

Over the years I disagreed with him at times. “I try to find the line not to cross over, and then cross over it,” he would say. But what a talent. His faces, his mannerisms, his delivery. Impeccable. His social commentary and his finesse of the English language, stunning. Where ever you are, George, I hope the weather is beautiful.

How many smileys are available to you? What kinds of smileys can you use and where can you use them? Check out this smiley video (scripted and voiced by a guy named Peter) and see why you get the best smileys in the business.

Go Smiley! from Smiley Central on Vimeo.

Happy birthday to us!

June marks Smiley Central's fifth anniversary. Since we first started offering free smiley characters in June 2003, over 3.2 billion Smiley Central smileys have been sent around the world in IMs, emails, and on social network profile pages.

That's right - 3.2 billion.

Here's a fun fact. We launched Smiley Central with only 200 smileys. (Which we thought was a huge number of emoticons back then.) The demand was so strong for more - we were receiving hundreds of email smiley requests a week - that we quickly went to work to double that number, then triple it, quadruple it... and today we're up to over 12,000 emoticons in total - all created in-house by our talented design team.

Our smileys have changed a good deal over time. We went from simple pixelated smiley characters that barely moved to smileys with short animated storylines.

Then we introduced super smileys - 3D-like emoticons that propelled Smiley Central into one of the largest downloadable software programs in the world.

From there, we tried adding sound to our smileys - a big hit with instant messager users. And of course, we took this even one step further with our music artist smiley program... working with such celebs as Aly & AJ, Rob Thomas, Meat Loaf, Lily Allen and Corbin Bleu.

Our smileys are now used in screensavers, ecards and are a big part of our social network profile customizer, Webfetti.




Of course, we wouldn't still be around creating new smileys today it if weren't for you. Our users have helped guide us all these years, providing great feedback, suggestions, and encouragement along the way. Many copycat online businesses have sprung up over the years promising their own smiley emoticons, but we still feel we're far-and-away the best quality smiley product in the world, bar none. So thank you for your support - and here's to another five great years!

It seems like dads are getting more and more high tech these days. Many of the dads in this office have iPhones, satellite radio, and GPS navigation systems. So if your dad has a blog or site, why not post a sweet Father's Day glitter graphic from our sister site Webfetti?

To add this graphic to a blog, copy the code below,
and paste it into the Comments section.

<a href="http://webfetti.smileycentral.com/download/index.jhtml?partner=ZKzeb007_ZJxdm128MFUS&utm_campaign=wf_glitter&utm_source=1089256&utm_medium=wf_myspace"><img src="http://ak.webfetti.com/assets/glitter/0/139.gif" alt="Webfetti.com" border="0"><br/><img src="http://t.webfetti.com/images/nocache/tr/wf/rds/gl/my/1089256.gif" width="160" height="18" border="0" /></a><br/>

For a more classic approach, you can send a free eCard from our sister site My Fun Cards. You can create a custom card with a personal photo and the frame of your choice. Or check out these eCards below as well as our full selection for Father's Day.

We've even got Father's Day screensavers so you can cherish family memories right from your desktop. So get to it! Send some greetings and more today!

It's Friday the 13th, a day when we avoid stepping on cracks, walking under ladders, or encountering black cats. Whether you believe in bad luck or not, we've got a cute Friday the 13th smiley for you. Plus, here's a YouTube video for those of you who are--if you will--superstitious...

<a href="http://webfetti.smileycentral.com/download/index.jhtml?partner=ZKzeb009_ZJxdm128MFUS&utm_campaign=wf_smiley&utm_source=1054215&utm_medium=wf_myspace"><img src="http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/8/8_4_136.gif" alt="Webfetti.com" border="0"><br/><img src="http://t.webfetti.com/images/nocache/tr/wf/rds/sm/my/1054215.gif" width="160" height="18" border="0" /></a><br/>

Summer in New York City means free outdoor concerts, free outdoor movies, and--of all things--a sketch comedy festival this weekend. In particular, I'm really excited to see comedian Kristen Schaal from the TV show Flight of the Conchords perform. Not only is she great on her HBO show, she's a hilarious comedian as well.

Check out her stand up comedy from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival as well as a clip from FOTC after the jump.

I dare you not to laugh.

Continue reading...

Missed out on prom this year? Nostalgic for prom seasons of yesteryear? Our sister site, Zwinky, has just announced dates for the second annual Zwinky Prom. While it's a bit later this year (June 12-15), the 4-day virtual event is sure to close the 2008 prom season with much excitement. (Not to mention some cool new fashion in Zwinky's formalwear shop, Z Avenue.)

Zwinky users have been submitting prom theme ideas to Miss Anastasia, and the design team is busy giving the Zwink nightclub a complete makeover for the party.

If you haven't checked out Zwinky and created your own avatar, now is the time to do it. Everyone's buzzing about prom, looking for dates, shopping for outfits, and trying to guess what this year's theme will be. My vote? A Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory. (Maybe next year.)

Learn more about Zwinky Prom!


Scene from last year's Zwinky Prom event

How many times have we heard an older generation preach about the good ol' days, a slower pace, when kids didn't whine for everything, when times were simpler, when high-tech meant Betamax. But younger generations tune it out - it's just more noise.

Interesting, then, to hear these same concerns coming from someone who can't be older than 19 or 20, waxing nostalgic, worried about kids and their addiction to online communication (at the expense of face-to-face interactions), foul-mouthed language, and overall lack of respect for, well, everyone. It would appear the warning call from one generation to the next is now happening faster... appropriate given how much quicker life is moving today.

Watch this video of SupaDupaFlyGirl and see for yourself. What are your thoughts?