Iām so sorry. Iām here in Miami enjoying the warm weather, and got myself extremely carried away with this mega length end of year newsletter over a mega sized coffee.
In January Google will host the next Unicode Technical Committee meeting, where most focus is on non-emoji proposals for 2021 and ahead. But some of the meeting will also be to review beta feedback for 2020ās emoji additions. More coming on that next year.
Up top I want to point you to a few great articles published on Emojipedia recently, from both Keith Broni and Jane Solomon:
Expect to see more of these two on Emojipedia in 2020.
Also recently published is the changelog for WhatsAppās emoji release of 2019.
Big thanks Emojipedia lexicographer John Kelly who has taken up a new job, so will no longer be editing the emoji definitions for us in the new year. Weāre going to keep his Emojiology series going into the new year, so keep an eye out for those.
Okay hereās what youāve missed if youāre not the recipient of non-stop emoji news like I am:
Jeremy Burge
š Interesting
š· Raise a glass to the decision not to implement the white-wine emoji
āWhite wineā seems to have become the go-to example of emoji color variations. I think (?) most agree it would be fine to have. But complications include whether that defines the existing wine as āred wineā (even though it currently is intended to be any wine); and where to stop...colored cars? Houses? š? A good summary here from Stephen Harrison.
š± New Gboard suggestions translate emoji into GIFs, stickers
The emoji keyboard is becoming an all-media keyboard.
š½ Facebookās Ban on Sexual Emoji Wonāt Make a Difference
Any emoji can be kinky if you want it to be.
š Most used emojis on Twitter for 2019
No major surprises here, but there is still some difference between the most-used emojis on public and private platforms, which I find interesting.
š©š½āš¦± Apple updates Clips app, adds Memoji and Animoji
Memoji is technically very cool, especially the video parts. But I can never quite figure out where it is for making a video. Now itās also in Appleās Clips app.
š„“ Man behind iconic smiley face symbol says limited number of emojis restricts freedom of speech
I was going to dunk on this, but Iāll just leave it here without comment.
š Unicalendar
Iāve bought one of these for 2018 and 2019 and they look amazing. Not too late to get this stylish emoji calendar for 2020, from Josh Williams.
š§ Appleās new gender-neutral emojis are important for non-binary people
In a lot of ways, neutral emojis are just good for communication. I can send a tweet on behalf of Emojipedia with a āshrugā and not have to choose if it should be a woman or man. But itās great theyāve also been seen mostly as a positive addition from non-binary people.
One argument Iāve seen is ānot all enbys look like this!ā but...thatās equally true for the women and men on the emoji keyboard. Having a third option gives more people more options.
š¤ Disambiguating the hand-over-mouth emoji
A proposal to fix the gap in this emoji, where some variations look like they are snickering, and others look shocked.
šŖ New Emoji Are So Boringābut They Donāt Have to Be
Itās easier to make the case for new emojis which are boring objects like a šŖ Chair than to propose specific facial cues or emotions; even if the latter would be more popular. There are moves underway to have fewer emojis approved that few people will use, in future years.
š§ How I made the yawning face and waffle emoji
The š„± Yawning Face emoji is a great addition.
š§ Apple adds gender-neutral emoji options, boosting LGBTQ representation
Apple often makes the headlines with emoji releases as so many people get them at once. Android users are so fragmented that many donāt see emoji updates for years, or at all. Nonetheless, Google led the way on gender neutral changes in 2019.
First by committing to changing many existing emojis to show as gender neutral. For instance - š¤¦ Person Facepalming already existed as an emoji separately from the š¤¦āāļø Woman Facepalming and š¤¦āāļø Man Facepalming but appeared as a woman on Android (and a man on iOS). Google signally a switch to a gender neutral display in March 2019.
Later, Googleās Jennifer Daniel was instrumental in proposing many of the new gender neutral sequences needed to fill gaps such as š§āāļø Pilot or š§āāļø Judge that resulted in Emoji 12.1.
Unicodeās position had long been that new neutral emojis wouldnāt be added until vendors started supporting the existing ones. The move from Google in March appears to be what led to nearly all emojis having an inclusive option by the end of 2019. Even if Apple actually rolled out more of them to more people first.
š©ø The long-awaited blood emoji is finally here
As always, Unicode pleases everyone and no-one at once with many new emojis. This blood drop is more broad in potential use than earlier proposed period or menstruation emojis, which some view as helpful, and others view as a cop-out for a ārealā period emoji.
š Google flags Fleksy keyboard for mature content over emoji
You might have seen this headline, but the issue has since been resolved
šŗ Tibetan Flag Emoji Requires Support of Major Tech Firms to be Approved
As of 2017 Unicode treats all global subdivisions as valid. That means that Unicode can stay out of which flags to approve or not, as itās made a system where any company can implement any of these at any time. That includes Tibet. The world being how it is though, I can see why global tech companies might be reluctant to support flags like Tibet, Catalonia, Brittany or Kurdistan. Especially if not adding all the other regions of the countries these subdivision fall within, under ISOās classification system.
š The Relieved Face Emoji Is the Nicest Emoji
Look at it: š Relieved Face
I love this. I also love that in 2013 when Emojipedia started, major publications writing entire articles about a specific emoji was not something Iād have ever foreseen.
š This Emoji Quiz Will Reveal Your Celebrity BFF
I took this quiz in October. Forgot all about it. Took it again now, got the same celeb.
I am Ariana Grande. Hereās our one-way conversation earlier in the year.
š Events
š Emojiland the Musical is BACK
Emojiland had a brief off-broadway run in 2019, premiering in NYC on World Emoji Day in July.
Now itās back for a longer run, with a bigger production behind it. Iām not kidding, itās really good. If youāre reading this newsletter, youāll enjoy it. Tickets have just gone on sale for Jan, Feb and March.
š¤ Lastly
Thanks to everyone who keeps me in an exclusively emoji-related job year around by subscribing to this newsletter or reading and visiting Emojipedia.
If you want to follow me around when Iām at the Googleplex in January for UTC, you can follow me on Instagram or for actual emoji news and updates youāre best to follow Emojipedia on Twitter.
āļø