The Economics of Everyday Things 99. Emoji
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Jul 14, 2025 
Jennifer 8. Lee, co-founder of Emojination and advocate for new emoji designs, dives into the fascinating world of emojis. She shares their incredible journey from Japan to global communication tools, emphasizing the role of the Unicode Consortium in standardizing them. Jennifer discusses the complexities of emoji design, including the switch from a gun to a water gun, and their influence on marketing strategies. Additionally, she unpacks the different meanings of heart emojis and the potential for confusion in digital conversations. Embrace the emoji revolution!
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Dumpling Emoji Discovery
- Jennifer 8. Lee noticed the absence of a dumpling emoji while texting with a friend about food.
- This sparked her obsession with the origin and creation of emoji characters.
Emoji's Massive Usage
- We send around 10 billion emoji each day, equating to 115,000 per second.
- Emoji usage extends beyond texts to products, books, and even a movie grossing $200 million.
Emoji as Digital Language
- Emoji are the first natively digital form of communication.
- Children often learn to read and write emoji before their native languages.