Emojis: Google, Apple (Stever Jobs), and SoftBank

Emoji: wiki.

AI / Google Gemini prompt:

Emoji have become a very, very big deal and early adoption in the US (and perhaps globally) can be traced back to Google (2007) and Apple (joined the Google team) about that time. Apple's fingerprints are all over the emoji phenomenon. Steve Jobs died in 2011. One wonders to what extent it was Steve Jobs that played a major role?

AI / Google Gemini prompt:

While Steve Jobs did not personally create emoji, he played a crucial role in their widespread adoption by approving and influencing their development at Apple. His oversight helped establish the polished, highly detailed aesthetic that set Apple's emoji apart and contributed significantly to their global popularity.

 

The path to emoji on the iPhone:

• Necessity in Japan: Emoji originated in Japan in the late 1990s and were widely used there, especially on SoftBank's mobile network. When Apple first entered the Japanese market with the iPhone 3G, it needed to include an emoji keyboard to compete with native carriers and their established picture-based communication culture.
•  Influential relationships: Japanese tech journalist Nobuyuki Hayashi has suggested that SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, a friend and admirer of Steve Jobs, was instrumental in persuading Jobs of emoji's importance for the Japanese market. He noted, "If the initial iPhone carrier were someone else, I am not sure if they could successfully persuade Steve Jobs to add emoji to the iPhone."

Jobs's direct involvement in the creative process:

• Final approval: In 2008, Apple assigned design intern Angela Guzman to create the original set of emoji for the iPhone. Guzman has confirmed that Jobs personally reviewed the emoji batch. According to her, his feedback was "overwhelmingly positive" and his approval was the final step for them to be cleared for launch.
• Emphasis on craftsmanship: Guzman's account reveals Jobs's obsession with quality and detail extended to every aspect of the company's products, no matter how small. His review instilled a sense of "craftsmanship" in the design team as they worked on hundreds of tiny icons. 

Hidden details and Easter eggs:

• "Think Different" tribute: For a time, the text on Apple's note and book emoji contained a hidden tribute to Apple's "Think Different" ad campaign. While the text of the ad was not written by Jobs, he famously narrated a version of it. This attention to subtle branding details was a hallmark of Jobs's influence on Apple's corporate identity.

Broader impact on global culture.

• Although initially intended only for Japan, tech-savvy users outside the country quickly found a workaround to enable the hidden emoji keyboard. This demonstrated a wider demand for the feature. Apple officially made the emoji keyboard available globally with iOS 5 in 2011, shortly before Jobs's death. His initial sign-off on the first set of highly-crafted emoji set a standard of quality that helped fuel their popularity and cement them as a part of mobile communication worldwide.