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Emoji are Gesture

Gretchen McCulloch @GretchenAMcC

EmojiCon 2018

These slides: bit.ly/emojicon-gesture

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There's no body language on the internet

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Emoji seem to help with this lack of body language

But how?

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Gesture studies

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Nameable gestures

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Emoji you can invoke by name

πŸ˜ƒπŸ˜β€πŸ‘πŸ™πŸ™ŒπŸ˜‰πŸ˜˜βœŠπŸ‘‰πŸ–•πŸ™„

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Nameable gestures and emoji clarify intent

Good job πŸ˜ƒ

Good job πŸ™„

Good job πŸ‘

Good job πŸ˜‰

Good job 😘

Good job πŸ–•

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Illustrative gestures

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Emoji used to illustrate

πŸŽ‚πŸŽˆπŸŽ‰

🍷🍸🍹🍺

πŸŸπŸ”πŸ•πŸ–πŸ—

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Illustrative gestures and emoji emphasize main topic

happy birthday! πŸŽ‚πŸŽˆπŸŽ‰

anyone want to have a drink with me?🍷🍸🍹🍺

haven't had lunch yet...I am so hungry.... πŸŸπŸ”πŸ•πŸ–πŸ—

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Pointing practically goes without saying

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Beat gestures

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Emoji strings repeat like beats

HELL YEAH BABY πŸŽ‰πŸŽ‰πŸŽ‰πŸŽ‰

DOπŸ‘YOUπŸ‘

HEARπŸ‘MEπŸ‘

LARRYπŸ‘

​

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Most top emoji strings are repeats

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Pantomime

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Emoji stories are guessable like pantomime

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There are a couple obvious connections...

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But why

all the different categories?

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Nameable gestures = very rigid form

Illustrative gestures = flexible form

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Nameable emoji = very rigid form

Illustrative emoji = flexible form

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Nameable gestures = in dictionaries

Other gestures = not in dictionaries

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Nameable emoji = in dictionaries?

Other emoji = no need to put in dictionaries

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Emoji are gesture

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Thanks!

These slides: bit.ly/emojicon-gesture

@GretchenAMcC on Twitter

gretchenmcculloch.com