I am having some fun in instructing AI to create a new emoji cat image. I wanted a smiling, loving emoji cat and here it is. The background is removed so the image is exactly like a true emoji. The image format is WebP, a modern image format for files that are lighter and therefore load faster.
WebP is a modern image format that provides superior lossless and lossy compression for images on the web. Using WebP, webmasters and web developers can create smaller, richer images that make the web faster. WebP lossless images are 26% smaller in size compared to PNGs.
Google for developers
If you want to use it but can’t resize it to make is smaller, leave a comment and I’ll do it for you to any size that you wish free of charge 🐈⬛😻😹.
But you might like to use the image to illustrate an article on emojis.
Here is some information about the history of the cat emoji
The cat emoji 😻 has an interesting history. Here are some insights:
Origins of Emoji: Before the familiar emoji we use today, there were simple emoticons that relied on punctuation and letters (e.g., “:)” to denote a smile). The first emoji were created in 1999 by Japanese artist Shigetaka Kurita. He worked on an early mobile internet platform for Japan’s main mobile carrier. Kurita aimed to design an attractive interface to convey information succinctly—for example, using an icon to represent the weather forecast instead of spelling out “cloudy.” Emoji gained popularity in Japan and later spread globally when companies like Apple and Google incorporated them into their platforms. In 2011, Apple introduced an official emoji keyboard to iOS, and Android followed suit two years later.
Cat Emoji Popularity: Cats have a special place in Japanese culture, which significantly influenced the prevalence of cat emoji. Japan celebrates felines through Maneki Neko “lucky cat” figurines, calico cat station masters, and world-famous cat cafes in Tokyo. A Japanese phone vendor (au by KDDI) added cat faces to their proprietary emoji set in 2003. When emoji characters were officially accepted by the Unicode Consortium in 2010, these cat face emoji were retained for compatibility. As a result, cat emoji options outnumber other animal emoji, including dogs.
Fun fact: Japan is our top-recommended vacation destination for cat enthusiasts!
Black Cat Emoji: Unfortunately, black cat emoji are not as prevalent. In 2012, Android 4.3 included a release of black and white emoji, which featured default black cat emoji. However, there’s hope on the horizon! Emojipedia lists “Black Cat” as new in Emoji 13.0, set to appear on more platforms in the second half of 2020.
So next time you use a cat emoji, remember its playful origins and the cultural influence that made it so popular! 😻😺🙀
Here is some information on the history of emojis
Emojis are digital pictograms used widely in social media, texting, e-mail, and other computer-mediated communications. They allow users to express a range of objects and ideas, including human emotions, animals, geography, foods, and flags. Here are some key points about their history:
Origins: The term “emoji” comes from two Japanese words: “e,” meaning “picture,” and “moji,” meaning “written character.” The first modern-day emoji set was created by the Japanese phone carrier SoftBank in 1997. Inspired by Japanese manga illustrations, emojis quickly gained popularity.
Standardization and Unicode: The codes associated with emojis are standardized by the Unicode Consortium. Brands like Apple, Google, and Samsung use these standardized emojis, ensuring compatibility across different devices and platforms. By 2022, the Unicode Consortium had standardized more than 3,600 emojis.
Popularity and Communication: Emojis gained popularity due to their usefulness in an online world that values simplicity and clarity of expression. They help clarify the sender’s intention and eliminate misunderstandings in text messages and tweets. Some linguists initially saw emojis as a regression in communication, but they have become an integral part of our digital vocabulary.
Cultural Influence: Emojis are now considered a large part of popular culture worldwide. In 2015, the Oxford Dictionaries even named the popular “Face with Tears of Joy” emoji (😂) its word of the year. In summary, emojis have evolved from simple emoticons to a rich visual language that transcends borders and enhances our online communication experience.
My thanks to Bing’s Copilot for so ably providing the information about the history of emojis and DALL-E 4 for creating the image.
