Communicating with Pictures.

In this digital age, how we connect and communicate with each other continues to evolve. We’ve shifted from face to face, planned communication to emails and text messages; from sentences to 140 characters and emoticons. Now we’re complementing the words, if any are used, with pictures, which as we know “are worth a thousand words.” Enter digital stickers, a growing business that has brought the childhood love of stickers into the digital world. 

• Line, based in Tokyo, is leading the way in this new industry. In Japan, digital stickers are considered an easier way of communicating rather than writing the complicated Japanese language. In this proper society, the visuals also make it easier to share feelings and communicate on uncomfortable topics.
• China’s WeChat offers stickers that are animated and full of personality.
• Based in the U.S., TextPride is licensing existing content such as movie and video game characters, musicians, and sports teams to offer in its digital sticker assortment.

Consumer Forecast: Help me communicate with ease and whimsy.

Sources: