For my last post ever for the class, I’ll be focusing on what the future will mean for the emoticon. Certainly, it seems that the classic emoticon has shifted into the world of emojis. What does this mean? Well, for starters it shows how the use of simple keyboard buttons such as the colon and parenthesis can create a text response that physically displays emotions. As the evolution of emoticons continued, it progressed to create more complex emoticons such as the shrugging face:
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ which kinda signifies a response of "I don't know" without even having to type the words. In cultures like Japan, emoticons or Kaomojis, are on a whole other level. The complexity of emoticons are endless, and the choices in emoticons are vast. Some on my favorite I've found are (◕ᴥ◕), 。.:☆*:･'(*⌒―⌒*))), (^_-)=☆, and ♪♬((d⌒ω⌒b))♬♪. Clearly, I think the cute and kawaii ones are the best.
As technology advanced, specifically the creation of iPhones, led up to the massive world-wide phenomenon of emoji use. On a global scale, it's hard to go one day without seeing those little pictographs somewhere. They changed the way people communicate, respond, and display emotion. I personally love emojis and I use them everyday, multiple times a day. I like them because they're easy to use, and they convey any emotion I'm trying to communicate to the person I'm talking to. I think one of the key reasons emojis are so popular is the fact that they add another level of politeness to the conversation. For example if you responded to a friend and said "sounds good." You are able to add another level of affection by adding an emoji and saying "sounds good. ❤"
For future implications on the way emoticons are heading, I simply think they are going to be even more involved in our daily lives then they already are. (Which is kinda hard to imagine.) But perhaps in children's books emojis could be used to help young kids understand what certain objects are. Like I said in a previous post, emojis are becoming the new universal language. If someone who came to American doesn't understand English, maybe street signs could incorporate emojis to signify what they mean. Of course, I have no idea if this will ever happen. But I do know emoticons will be ever changing, and will always be apart of our society now.



(Photo found at: http://www.hopesandfears.com/hopes/future/technology/168949-the-future-of-emoji)

Emoticons in Literature. The Future of Writing?

In this blog post we’ll mainly focus on the fundamental developments of emoticons and how they fit in the sphere of literature and address questions such as, “is it really literature if there’s emoticons in it?” The current digital age we live in brings along many new frontiers to be explored; including the implications technology has had on literature.
While there may be skeptics out there who don’t include literature pertaining emoticons to be ‘real’ literature, I disagree. Technology has advanced to the point where it’s incorporated into our daily lives even unknowingly, and with the continued developments many tasks of everyday life have become easier on us. While modern technology continues to escalate, it’s has shaped the way we communicate, share ideas, research topics, and write papers. (Which I’m currently doing as you’re reading this!) so how could it not influence the way we read? One example in American pop culture of literature that contains emoticons is a series titled TTYL, (slang for talk to you later) by Lauren Myracle. It’s mainly books for younger audiences, as I read the series when I was in middle school; nonetheless an entertaining and fun read. The books takes form of a continuous conversation between three high school girls through IM, or instant messaging. With the entire book basically being a IM conversation, it gives the reader a sense of inclusion and feeling of connection to the three characters. The reader doesn’t even know the official names of the girls until later on in the book, all you can see is their IM handles which are “SnowAngel”, “Mad Maddie”, and “Zoegirl”. They converse in slang and often use emoticons to respond to their friends messages, which is not often typical for books of this time. (It was published in 2004). You can see the format of the book below. Which I hope does not end up too blurry!



The series reminds me of the book we read in class together, TrainMan or Densha Otoko. It follows the same format of conversation messages throughout the book, which is also accessorized with the use of emoticons to display emotion to the reader.
The two novels are relevant to our class on the digital age as they demonstrate how specifically emoticons can shape the way we, as a society view and read literature. The involvement of emoticons within the literature text create a sense of digitalism, where the reader is able to feel the impact of modern technology incorporated into the book they are reading. I certainly do no think that the use of emoticons in literature is detrimental to the future of writing. To me, it shows how the writing community is able to adapt to the changes in our society within the last decade, and come through with beautiful works of literature that showcase all parts of modern society through writing.

Emoticons in Japan

The Emojis we know and love on our Apple devices were first developed from Japan, that's why there are so many emojis individuals in the United States claim as 'useless' because they can't understand what they represent. Japan is often considered to be the epicenter of emoticons. There are key distinctions between emoticons employed in Japan vs. the US. For example, Japan seems to focus more on the eyes of the emoticon, while the US focuses more on the mouth aspect. EX: An American emoticon can be exhibited as ":-)" while a Japanese emoticon displaying the same expression would be more like "^_^". Or a sad face may look like ":-(" in the US, and "(T_T)" in Japan. These differences in emoticons can be attributed to cultural differences between the two societies; Japanese pop culture also focuses on the eyes of characters more. With the popularity of anime and manga throughout Japan, it's not surprising. Many of the characters in both anime and manga demonstrate huge eyes with smaller mouths, a characteristic valued in the "kawaii culture" in Japan, which can be described as a subculture of Japanese popular culture that focuses on mannerisms, behaviors, and style that present an overall 'cute' or 'kawaii' look.
In an article posted on http://blog.btrax.com/ , it's stated that Japan uses emoticons a great deal more than Americans do. Even within Japan, it's noted that women use emoticons more than Japanese men. I believe this can be traced back to the appeal to kawaii culture and how emoticons apply this 'cuteness' aspect to daily conversation.

Oxford's 2015 Word of the Year

With 2015 coming to an end, Oxford Dictionary released their decision of word of the year; the laughing face emoji. "“Although emoji have been a staple of texting teens for some time, emoji culture exploded into the global mainstream over the past year,” the company’s team wrote in a press release. “Emoji have come to embody a core aspect of living in a digital world that is visually driven, emotionally expressive, and obsessively immediate.”" (http://time.com/4114886/oxford-word-of-the-year-2015-emoji/) This is the first time in history Oxford has chosen a pictograph as their word of the year. While the 'laughing face emoji' came in first place, the 'kissing face emoji with heart' came as runner up. Their selection of choosing a emoji rather than a word shows the immense power emojis have on our current digital age society. This hallmark decision showcases how popular emojis have become; and are continuing to capture the attention of not only the general public but literary scholars as well.
The implications this has on the future of literature proves to be immense. Oxford Dictionary has always been a respected source, and with their decision to select an emoji for word of the year demonstrates the influence emojis has had on the world. Although it does raise some questions, as many people have been curious as to where Oxford will place the emoji within the dictionary itself. I myself was wondering this, and my best guess would be under a 'symbol' or 'emoji' category. Maybe over time the dictionary will develop a separate category solely dedicated to emojis. It's interesting to see how people react to this development, as I was discussing Oxford's choice for word of the year with a friend of mine she argued that since emoji is a pictograph and not a word, it should not be included in the dictionary. With the advancements in technology made in the 21st century, I think it's important for the dictionary to evolve to meet the digital demands created through various technology. If literature has evolved to include emoji within it's works, I think it's only fair to include emojis in the dictionary as well. Society is not stationary; it's static and ever changing. Meaning the dictionary should be as well.

Emoji's Out of Style for Japan

Emoji's are a fading fad in Japanese culture? That's one statement I would have never foreseen coming. According to an article on Slate.com, emojis are no longer a trending phenomenon in Japanese society:  “The emoji boom is over here in Japan,” says Shigetaka Kurita, the man widely credited with creating the adorable little runes. “They’re still around, they’re still pervasive, but they aren’t a fad anymore,” he says in his Tokyo office. He ventures that when Obama mentioned emojis on the White House lawn, “I suspect most Japanese people’s response was, ‘wow, emoji are still popular over there!?’"(http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2015/12/emojis_are_no_longer_cool_in_japan.html)
I find this statement interesting for many reasons; first I would never had imagined something that was so predominant in popular culture Japan would fade out in mere 2015. One of the reasons I believe this to be happening is because of the world-wide popularity of emojis within recent years. With the rise of iPhones, the rise of the new language of emojis influxes for people of the Western world. Since the introduction of cellphones, emoticons has always been a popular mode of communication within Japanese society; even before iPhones. I think with emojis being so popular around the world, it strikes Japan as something thats over used and simply mundane now. Do I think that emoticons will completely dissolve away Japanese society? Of course not. I simply think Japan is ahead of the curve from many countries when it comes to popular media and technological trends.

(Photo used was found on http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2015/12/emojis_are_no_longer_cool_in_japan.html)

How Emoticons are Revolutionizing Language

As something as complex as language, you would imagine it would be hard to create language that could be understood in almost all cultures; regardless of what country or region it is. Yet that is exactly what emoticons are becoming to emerge as in this digital age. Through the use of technology and internet access, the world is more connected than ever. It makes sense that there should be a universal language to communicate with one another whether it be on forums, social media, or on various websites. Now when you see something funny on a video or post, you can simply reply with the 'laughing emoji' (😂😂), and it's fairly understood what your reaction is. Which I think is awesome. I love meeting new people and learning about people's different cultures and if I'm able to communicate with someone without even speaking their language; I believe that to be a remarkable feat.
Some people on the other hand argue that emoticons and emojis are ruining literature, and the way society communicates with each other. While I agree that with the rise of emoticons and technology society has become more relaxed in the way we communicate with each other, I do not believe it's a negative thing. Language has always been evolving, and it always will be. The way English was spoken hundreds of years ago is certainly not how we speak it now; and for good reason. The way we communicate tailors to the way we function as a society, and with many people owning cellphones or iPhones, it only makes sense that we exchange conversations more quickly and casually. I know for me personally, I would not want to type a formal letter to my best friend every time I talk to her via text. While it's common to use colloquial terms with closer friends; this doesn't eradicate the formalities you use when you contact someone such as your professor, boss, or family members. There are still certain situations where it is not necessarily acceptable to use such terms or emoticons,or at least it would definitely be more risky depending on the relationship you have with such superior.

(Photo found at http://theconversation.com/emoticons-and-symbols-arent-ruining-language-theyre-revolutionizing-it-38408)

Brief History of Emoticons

First off, for my first post I'm primarily be talking about the origins and history of emoticons. Second, this is my first post on a formal blog ever (I have a Tumblr but all I ever do on it is reblog), so I hope I can figure out the mechanisms by the end of this project. I'm very happy to be focusing on emoticons, as I enjoy them very much. I'm excited to be researching emoticons, in the hopes I'll learn something new. My goal is you do too.
I think it's safe to say that the majority of people living within our society in the twenty-first century have had some sort of experience with what we call 'emoticons.' Although emoticons have been officially around for decades, they haven't taken full effect of prominence until the last decade or so. This can be specifically attributed to the burst of modern technology. Emoticons can be defined as: "a digital icon or a sequence of keyboard symbols that serves to represent a facial expression, as :‐) for a smiling face. Emoticons are used in a digital message or text to convey the writer’s emotions or clarify intent." (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/emoticon) It has been widely debated where the first emoticon appeared in print, but it has been speculated that it was first seen in a transcript of a speech written by President Abraham Lincoln in 1892 where he wrote; "(applause and laughter ;)." (http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304213904579093661814158946)
For me personally, I feel as though this could have been a simple typo. Although it was noted in the article that the transcript was hand written, rather than written on a type writer; which would have been a more plausible reason as to why it would have been a grammatical error. I guess it will forever be a mystery, although it would be cool if the first smiley face in print was by Abraham Lincoln himself. Since 1892, the evolution of emoticons are continually changing and advancing to fit into our modernistic society.