a16z Podcast Of Emojis and Innovation
Oct 15, 2019
Fred Benenson, former VP of Data at Kickstarter and creator of Emoji Dick, joins Jennifer 8. Lee, a former New York Times reporter and vice-chair of the Unicode Emoji subcommittee, to discuss the fascinating world of emojis. They dive into the cultural significance of emojis, exploring how they enhance emotional communication and reflect identity. The duo also navigates the political challenges faced in emoji representation and shares insights into the innovative project of translating classic literature into emojis, showcasing the evolving ways we express ourselves digitally.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Dumpling Emoji Origin
- Jennifer 8. Lee was inspired to start the dumpling emoji project after a conversation with Yiying Lu.
- They realized there wasn't a dumpling emoji despite other obscure Japanese food emojis.
Emoji Regulation
- Emojis are regulated by the Unicode Consortium, a non-profit with 12 voting members.
- These members include nine US tech companies, one German company, a Chinese company, and the government of Oman.
Easter Island Emoji
- The Easter Island head emoji ended up in the emoji set due to a statue in Tokyo used as a meeting point.
- Apple and Android render the emoji differently, highlighting platform variations.
