Iconography and emoticons allow for the invisible to be visible. In the online world I cant naturally show you how I am feeling or portray my emotions, however, through the use of icons and liking certain things; I can start to show you.
I can find new relationships with both my physical friends, people beyond my spatial and temporal boundaries, as well as brands, bloggers and groups. I am making the invisible relationships become visible. We can now share our feelings, emotions and thoughts through a simple image, or a simple click of a button. This in my opinion is helping keep people connected and helping to create an interactive and communal reach for businesses and publications in this online world. We are in effect publishing our emotions and feelings.
Emoticons help with expressing emotions and relaying feelings. If I am happy, I can publish a smiley face. If I am sad I can send a sad face. My words can be interpreted in any way, however, these emoticons and the iconography enables the recipient to visualize my emotions and understand the meaning of my words in a literal and real manner, extending the meaning of my words. Here, I am creating an online character, and a closer connection to my personality. In this, I am more interesting and understandable online.
“Along the way, Friedberg seeks to theorize and historicize vision itself through a variety of critical “lenses,” each of which operates in conjunction with certain technologies at specific moments in time.” (Anna Frieberg, The virtual Window interactive.) You can look at this as a pair of glasses that moves through time and space. The glasses transform you into the same space as your conversational recipient, breaking through spatial and temporal boundaries. This is a form of data visualization. Here you can break down the barriers of visualization, making your emotions visible. In this, my conversational recipient can experience the same emotion and feeling with me at the same moment in time. Now I can feel connected to anyone at any space, expressing emotions and thoughts as I would in real time and real space and my published thoughts become more truthful.
In terms of businesses and online publications, the placement of emoticons and icons, makes it easier for the formal to become informal. This establishes a lighter and friendlier mood, enabling for a more inviting space. This is specifically important for blogs. Further, the like button allows for the audience to become interactive with you, your work and your other followers. The publication is being transformed into a community. They are creating a community based on a shared liking.
Looking at fashion blogs. The blogger wants you to like the images and clothing that they present. To help you like them and to make them more inviting, icons such as a smiley face or a love heart will lure you in and entice a feeling of acceptance. Further, if people click the like button, you will see a pattern of recognition. If the clothing is gaining approval and becoming fashionable as portrayed trough the number of likes, you will be more likely to like it too. It’s like seeing a number of people wearing a new style on the street. The more people you see wearing the style and accepting it, the more likely you will too. The like button, an online comment or an emoticon is the online way to create a visual trend.
Without these like buttons and emotions you would be less likely to visualize peoples emotions toward the piece.
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