While a petition is nice step towards raising awareness, the ultimate decision on what is accepted as a new emoji rests with the Unicode Consortium.
It’s a not-for-profit organisation that standardises letters and characters on computers, a system which is called Unicode. Fundamentally, Unicode ensures that other computers can see each other’s characters, ensuring consistency and avoiding those pesky white boxes you see instead of text.
Unicode is responsible for bringing out new emoji with every version it releases. Unicode 8.0 added the unicorn and thinking face, while Unicode 9.0 featured the addition of bacon and an avocado emoji.
It’s still up to manufacturers and software makers as to when they adopt new Unicode versions, but they usually tucking the updates ASAP. If you want to know more, here’s [an] explanation on the history of emoji and Unicode.
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
