Do you use emoticons much, perhaps you don't and perhaps you feel they aren't important, regardless I'd live your view on them and want to know how often you use them.
I try to use them very commonly while texting or Facebook messaging (and I mean like 1-3 per message on average) to express emotion, because simple text messengers aren't too great when it comes to that...
Here on the forums, I don't use them freakishly often outside of VMs and PMs (I don't really use the Shoutbox very often..... and by that I mean I really never use it), but I do use them from time to time.
I fail to understand the obsession with pictographs when your species has already developed a marvelous written language that more than suffices for proper expression.