I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I LOVE using emoticons or smileys when I’m writing. Some of my friends might even say I can’t finish a sentence without an emoticon when I’m chatting with them. Since most of my communication now is done online because of the nature of my work and what I do on the side, I want to make sure I send my messages and emotions across through these smileys. 😉 And I love that there always seems to be an emoticon that can convey what I’m feeling at a specific moment. I think smileys lessen the chances of you being misunderstood by the recipient of your messages, don’t you agree? 🙂
Whenever I’m writing a review or a feature about a restaurant or a product that I’ve tried, may it be just recently or sometime in the past few months (or years 😀 ), not only do I remember the flavors that I experienced, but everything I felt at that very instance when I took my first bite or spoonful. For instance, I’m reminded of the delightful sensation I got when I first tasted the zesty tartness of the Malacañang Frozen Souffle (lemon custard with dark chcoolate, pistachio and lemon lavender sauce) from Casa Roces, which made me smile in pure happiness while I exclaimed, “Ang sarapppp!”. 😀 So when I finally write about this restaurant, you can be sure there’ll be a whole bunch of smileys on there to show you how giddy I was about their food and ambiance. 🙂
I don’t think I can go a day chatting or writing (even on my personal journal) without using even one smiley or emoticon. That’s why I’m easily amused by the amount of smileys available in the many apps we use nowadays, just like on WeChat. Check out the smileys below and you might find that you have the same WeChat sticker personality as Iya, Drew or Vice Ganda.
What’s Your WeChat Sticker Personality?
Did you know that it’s been over 15 years since the first wave of monochrome phones hit Manila? Back then, we had to rely on a colon and an open or close parenthesis to visually express ourselves when text messaging. So just imagine everyone’s enthusiasm the moment technological advances began to paint the mobile scene with colored screens and 2D emoticons.
This 2014, WeChat excites everyone further as its recently released 5.1 upgrade offers a special section dedicated to an arsenal of animated stickers—ranging from the quirky Onigiri & Friends to the adorable bunch of Hello, Crayon. Dubbed as the “Sticker Shopâ€, this feature can be easily unlocked with one tap of the ‘+’ keyboard button or the ‘Me’ tab. Read along as we help you get acquainted with WeChat’s new stickers by matching some personalities with the faces of WeChat Philippines Iya Villania, Drew Arellano, and Vice Ganda. Be sure to also browse through Sticker Shop yourself to get a hold of your own WeChat sticker personality!
Iya the Wide-Eyed Charmer
Adorable, sometimes cheeky, and all sorts of sweet, Australian-born Filipino TV personality Iya Villania channels the persona of Sticker Shop’s Elise. Like the animated blonde girl who has a knack for baking, Iya’s knowledge from culinary studies has made her win over people with the dishes that she serves up. Throw in her prowess for hosting local shows ASAP and MYX, performing for theatre, and recording tracks, and you’ve got a power-packed female in a sweet package, very much like Elise who is Sweet Town’s muse.
Follow Iya on her WeChat Official Account: @IyaOfficial.
Drew the Hyperactive Furball
Like the charged-up group of Sticker Shop’s Emoticats, American-born Filipino actor and TV host Drew Arellano is made for travels and born for adventure. With shows including Aha in GMA 7, and Biyahe ni Drew in GMA News TV, he breezes through life with an active mindset whether he’s in the ziplines of Pagudpud, Antique, and Bohol, or plunging in the waters around Siquijor, Camiguin, and Sarangani—much like the feline crew that is game for just about anything.
Follow Drew on his WeChat Official Account: @DrewOfficial.
Vice the Feisty Character
It only takes one punchline from Filipino comedian and TV personality Vice Ganda to make you realize how much he channels Sticker Shop’s Cynical Rabbit—who is that fatally attractive bunny with an opinion about everything. Giving everyone reality checks just like Cynical Rabbit, Vice Ganda uses his polarizing humor through observational comedy and sarcasm found in local shows Showtime and Gandang Gabi, Vice!, and in some of the all-time highest grossing films in Philippine cinema including Girl, Boy, Bakla, Tomboy, The Unkabogable Praybeyt Benjamin, and This Guy’s in Love with U Mare!
Follow Vice Ganda on his WeChat Official Account
About WeChat
WeChat is an innovative mobile social communications application designed for smartphone users. WeChat is free for download from app stores running on Android, BlackBerry, iOS, Symbian and Windows Phone operating systems*. It is the most downloaded mobile social app in many markets with more than 100 million registered accounts in international markets.
WeChat users can add friends via a wide range of innovative actions and methods, including scanning QR codes, connecting users’ phone books and activating location-based functions such as “People Nearby†and “Shakeâ€. The platform enhances social interaction by supporting exchanging of text, voice and video, stickers, and photos with their friends over data networks or under Wi-Fi environments. Users can choose to communicate one-on-one, or within their closed social network through “Momentsâ€.
WeChat also comes with comprehensive privacy setting functions, which enables user to tailor their security level as needed
For more details and application download, please visit www.wechat.com
*Some features are limited to certain operating systems due to the product development cycle.
Webpage: http://www.wechat.com
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/WeChatPH
Twitter: @WeChatPH[1] Phl is SE Asia’s fastest growing market for smartphones – study, (http://www.philstar.com/business-usual/2013/05/20/943965/phl-se-asias-fastest-growing-market-smartphones-study)
[2] Google Trends 2013, (http://www.google.com/trends/topcharts?date=2013#vm=chart&cid=zg1333&geo=PH&date=2013&cat&r=r)
####
