A new language of visual digital messaging evolves

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line-app

"Man with a mug of beer, winking. Bear busy at work at his desk. Man on his knees, devastated. Bear bowing in apology."

ASCII emoji gave way to pic emoji, and that in turn has given way to 'sticker' messaging. It's evolving most noticeably in Japan, and the messaging app Line is one of the more interesting platforms.

Hiroko Tabuchi reports for the NYT.