Uploaded October 2016 | Updated September 2026, 5 days ago
A simple emoji can help clarify and amplify subtext so that we can better understand each other, but their benefits extend far beyond enhancing our daily texts and emails. Marketing analyst and avid emoji-defender Jenna Schilstra demonstrates how these pictograms are being used in new ways, like helping abused children describe complex emotions, or giving new communication methods to people on the autism spectrum. In the end, Schilstra says, these new expressions might be making expression itself more accessible.
TED@UPS Atlanta unlocked the opportunities of the question “What if?” Daring to engage with the boundless future, speakers explored innovations in language, trade and technology to imagine a future full of possibilities for all.
About the TED Institute: We know that innovative ideas and fresh approaches to challenging problems can be discovered inside visionary companies around the world. The TED Institute helps surface and share these insights. Every year, TED works with a group of select companies and foundations to identify internal ideators, inventors, connectors, and creators. Drawing on the same rigorous regimen that has prepared speakers for the TED main stage, TED Institute works closely with each partner, overseeing curation and providing intensive one-on-one talk development to sharpen and fine tune ideas.
Learn more at ted.com/ted-institute
Follow TED Institute on Twitter @TEDPartners
Subscribe to our channel: youtube.com/user/TEDInstitute
A simple emoji can help clarify and amplify subtext so that we can better understand each other, but their benefits extend far beyond enhancing our daily texts and emails. Marketing analyst and avid emoji-defender Jenna Schilstra demonstrates how these pictograms are being used in new ways, like helping abused children describe complex emotions, or giving new communication methods to people on the autism spectrum. In the end, Schilstra says, these new expressions might be making expression itself more accessible.
TED@UPS Atlanta unlocked the opportunities of the question “What if?” Daring to engage with the boundless future, speakers explored innovations in language, trade and technology to imagine a future full of possibilities for all.
About the TED Institute: We know that innovative ideas and fresh approaches to challenging problems can be discovered inside visionary companies around the world. The TED Institute helps surface and share these insights. Every year, TED works with a group of select companies and foundations to identify internal ideators, inventors, connectors, and creators. Drawing on the same rigorous regimen that has prepared speakers for the TED main stage, TED Institute works closely with each partner, overseeing curation and providing intensive one-on-one talk development to sharpen and fine tune ideas.
Learn more at ted.com/ted-institute
Follow TED Institute on Twitter @TEDPartners
Subscribe to our channel: youtube.com/user/TEDInstitute
