1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to text messaging communications, and more particularly, to graphical expression during text messaging communications.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Text messaging refers to the exchange of brief written messages over a network between phones and/or computing devices. Mobile instant messaging (MIM) technology extends text messaging service accessibility to mobile computing platforms (e.g., standard mobile phones, smartphones, and electronic tablets). With MIM technology, instant messaging services can be accessed from computing devices, including standard mobile phones and smartphones using a myriad of operating systems.
In text messaging, whether fixed-line or mobile, real-time text messages are communicated directly between individuals using computing devices (e.g., personal computers or mobile phones). Two types of text messaging are instant messaging and online chat. Although qualitatively similar, instant messaging is used in common parlance to refer to communications between known users (e.g., using a contact list or a friend list) whereas online chat is used to refer to communications among anonymous users in a multi-user environment.
Both instant messaging and online chat use a push-based style of internet communication. As with email, a user types in text that is transferred over a network (e.g., the Internet) to another user. Text messages between users are perceived to be quasi-synchronous—that is, to occur nearly simultaneously. This near-simultaneity is due to a push-based style of interne communication (i.e., communications are “pushed” to recipients by a central server when received) which allows immediate acknowledgement of, or reply to a message and makes text messaging an efficient and effective means of communication between users.
One inherent limitation of text messages is that each message is limited to 160 bytes of data (although some providers reserve some of those bytes for service use), or approximately 160 alphanumeric characters of the English alphabet. This size limitation severely restricts the type of data that can be transmitted via text message. As a result, graphical expression in text messages has been limited to one or more textual emoticon composed of alphanumeric symbols (e.g., a colon and a right parenthesis to symbolize a happy face, or a smiley face included within a font set), an attached graphic image file (e.g., a .GIF file of a winking smiley face or a flash animation of kissing lips), or a simple descriptive statement of an imaginary graphic action (“John has thrown a cow at you.”). Because these graphical options are limited, the ability to effectively express emotion within text messages is minimal, at best.
Prior art messaging systems do allow the user to upload a personal picture and/or a tag phrase (or sentence) to his profile which is/are seen by other users during messaging sessions. The personal picture and tag phrase offer the user an opportunity to express a snapshot of his thoughts and/or mental state—at least from the instant in time that the profile was created—to others with whom he is communicating. Current messaging systems, at most, have the capacity to allow the user to change his associated profile picture during the text messaging session. Although the user can change his profile picture to express a different state or impression, the change is implemented by uploading a new picture outside of the text messaging session.