Meaning of Icons

I ran across an article today talking about how to use icons to enhance your web design. I agree with many of the points in the article, but I think the author failed to focus on the most important rule of icon use:

• Make sure they understand it and that it adds relevance to the content

One of my coworkers was examining a new software interface recently. Somehow we got into a discussion about the "save" button. Save on most word processing and design programs is almost always represented by an icon only--a 3.5 floppy disk icon.

The coworker remarked that the icon was out of date; that no one had used floppy drives in five years and no one would even know what they were in 10. Yet the icon remains. Why? 

It is simple association. We have come to associate that image with save--every time, all the time. I doesn't matter that the next generation will never have seen a real disk like that. The fact remains that the learn from the start that weird square thing means save.

The point of this tale is to remember to ask ourselves: are our icons that powerful? Are they adding to the value and UNDERSTANDING of our sites? Could they stand alone?

If the answers are yes, then use them. If not, rethink what you are trying to convey--there may be a better image or a better method you can use.