Where Did Emoji
Come From?
- by EmojiChat
- Preface
- In The Beginning..
- Introduction
- 1. History
- 2. Impact
- The Emoji Story
- 1. Emoji is Codes
- 2. What is Emoji.. Really
- 3. Steve Jobs' Blesses Emoji
- ...more coming soon
The Emoji Story
2. What is Emoji.. Really (cont)
Steve Jobs did for emoji what the Egyptians did for temples
Comparison between Emoji and Emoticons continued from page 1.
Emoticon
vs.
Emoji
Adding a face to messages can project tone. Our brains are good at recognizing humanistic qualities which can make make messages seem like 'more than words on a page'.
- Problem solved?
Wireless phone companies in Japan used the emoticon idea and made it easier for people to use emoticons in messages, using emoji. Enabled people to send elaborate messages over text quickly, using pictures, without clogging up the wireless data networks.
This wasn't really a "need" for it except to be human. It was more of a 'want' that was really easy to do.
- Fill A Need?
Mobile operators are under constant pressure to keep their networks running smoothly. Any shortcuts that can be taken to limit bandwidth are strongly considred. Emoji allowed pictures to be sent while decreasing message size.
(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻
- It's very technical.
Unlimited. People think of new ones every day.
- How many are there?
Limited number.. Under 2000.
Computer users in east Asia developed a much more complex set of emoticons using ASCII.
- Who revolutionized it?
Apple Inc., Steve Jobs.
All this talk of Steve Jobs.. and nothing to actually back it up. Fanboy?
Hold on there Tiger. I'll let you in on a little secret.
Oh goodie.
3. Steve Jobs blesses Emoji
No story is complete without a clincher. It was worth the wait.
Steve Jobs was on a trip to Japan to promote the first iPhone just released in America. He was there, because in Japan, cellphone technology was so much more advanced iPhone did not automatically sell itself. That, and he wanted a peice of 80 million user mobile market there.
Who wouldn't want their $800 dollar cellphone bought by 80 million people?
There was a problem. The iPhone was missing many features that the Japanese have grown to love so many mobile operators turned their heads from the iPhone and Steve Jobs' offer.
One company, Softbank, which was the 5th largest Japanese mobile operator was a little more forgiving. Softbank still took a large cut of the profits on the iPhone, more than Jobs would have liked, but they agreed to negotiate a deal as long as the next iPhone included emoji.
They had a deal as long as the Japanese version of the iPhone included emoji.
That day, Steve Jobs went home, gathered all the little emoji in his hands, and blessed them.
To be continued...soonish
