Bots have been online since people started crowding digital chatrooms. You’ve probably run into more than a few on Twitter and passed them by. The New York Public Library Emoji Bot is one you’ll jump at the chance to engage with. It trades pictures for emojis.
Send this bot a tweet with an emoji in it and it will send you back a picture from the NYPL archives inspired by what you sent. Send a baby, get a photo of babies. Send an animal, get a 19th-century drawing of one back.
Sure this is a silly little thing but it’s always neat to see the small ways simple tech can make the world a bit of a brighter place to be. This bot isn’t going to try to get you to buy anything or engage in endless cycles of chat, it just wants to share archives of art and photos, ensuring that they aren’t lost to time. If you’ve got a few moments, send a tweet! Get a little surprise back. You can check it out via Twitter.