I am a bit old fashioned so generally I use only the "read it sideways" version. Since typing :-) in Skype automatically change it into the picture version, I add a space between.. the nose and the mouth, to prevent it from doing it.

I guess emoticons are an inherent part of communication these days. Unless they are inserted into an official letter there is no harm in using them. However, I don't like messages overpacked with emoticons; I suppose that people that communicate with each other should figure out by trial and error their level of acceptance for the particular number of these message adornments.

Emoticon is more like a signal which is existing everywhere in our world of sense, so I do not mind using emoticon to express in different way, however if you are targeting to learn and practice a language, you had better eliminate the usage of emoticon to write. 

That's good to put emoticons i think.