New to iPhone... Please help with emoticon input

[wmwt1960]

I keep trying to send emoticons but recipients say comes out letters... What am I doing wrong and what are the correct keyboard inputs for the standard emoticons? 
Thank you so very much for helping a someone who is way behind the times!

[desert333]

The other day i found out some very useful softwares. Here i would like to share them with you.
Mac Mp4 Video Converter is a software
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Video Converter for Mac 4Media Video Converter for Mac is powerful video and audio conversion software for Mac users specially.
Mac Video to AVI Converter is developed to convert all popular video files to AVI and convert video to audio for Mac OS X users.

Enjoy your digital life!