Emoji and Search Engines

From: Christopher Fynn (chris.fynn@gmail.com)
Date: Sun Jan 04 2009 - 22:13:37 CST

  • Next message: David Starner: "Re: Emoji & compatibility characters"

    Asmus Freytag wrote:

    > The fact that the request to provide a solution using non-PUA
    > character codes is so strongly supported by leading search engine
    > manufacturer(s) should give you pause here.

    Is there a <red-herring> emoji?

    MSN, Yahoo, Google and so on are all *much* more than "search engine
    manufacturer(s)" - I don't think the proposal has much at all to do
    with being able to search and index emoji. More likely is that these
    companies simply want to enable their subscribers to use "cute" emoji
    in their email and chat services - and to display messages originating
    from Japanese cell phones in applications like MSN Live, Yahoo!
    Messenger, Google
    Talk and so on.

    IMO encoding emoji as UCS characters would serve only as a short term
    and limited fix to this problem - Instead of burdening Unicode with
    this cruft wouldn't MS, Yahoo, Google et al be be better off working
    out amongst themselves and the cell phone carriers a higher level
    protocol for exchanging emoji so their users can exchange all the
    "cute" emoji they like.

    - Chris



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