It was invented in 1963 as a cheap way to improve the morale of State Mutual Life Assurance Company workers, then licensed to a company that, by 2017, was making £300m from it annually. Anyway, the yellow smiley face has become a symbol of unbridled consumerism. It means: “I’m dead” or, in boomer speak: “That’s so funny”. So what emoji do you use to express happiness? The skull-and-crossbones or skull emoji. We only use the smiley face emoji sarcastically now. Sure, emojis might have been created to signify intended tone in a predominately text-based communication system, but now things have evolved. This intergenerational miscommunication was recently reported on by the Wall Street Journal, citing all manner of young people who feel affronted by what they declare is an unforgivably sincere use of the smiley face.īut I like using the smiley face sincerely! Get with the programme, you fossil. It’s still enough to draw a line in the sand. And I have no option but to declare you my sworn enemy.īut we’re almost the same age.
I can’t hear you over your Glenn Miller music and the sound of your walk-in bath filling up. No! I’m a millennial! I’m cool! I wear skinny jeans and side-part my hair. Let me ask you a question: how old are you?įor the sake of argument, let’s say early 30s. A smiley face emoji at the end of a message is a patronising pat on the head from somebody who wishes you nothing but ill fortune. However, Lauren says that 'Frank Whittle' has even gone after industry giants such as BrewDog, although the harm of a single bad review to the Ellon-based outfit isn't nearly as damaging as one to a local pet service.But … but … why ? It’s a tool of passive aggression and dismissiveness. "It appears he's now made his way to the hospitality industry." "Apparently, he's been destroying pet businesses all over the country, having posted over 2000 negative reviews. She said: "Just a heads up to local businesses that this is a fake account leaving fake reviews. To sign up, simply enter your email address into this link here.Īnd if you aren't already, make sure you join the conversation over on our Facebook Groups and Aberdeen Live Instagram.Ĭheryl Barr, the owner of Shorty's, an ice cream parlour in Glasgow, wrote a warning about the account on Facebook. The manually created newsletter arrives every day at around 4pm, giving you a round up of the most important stories we've covered that day.
Get all the latest Aberdeen news and headlines sent straight to your inbox by signing up to our free newsletter.įrom breaking news in and around the city, to traffic and travel and health, we've got you covered. Many of the businesses affected have reported the harmful reviews however, most remain in place. "For any small place, it can be really bad because it has the potential to bring your overall rating down, but all we can do is report it." She said: "Most places have genuine five-star reviews from their clients and as soon as someone sees that a person hasn't been happy with your services, they don't necessarily look into why - they might not realise it's a troll account." She adds that this type of 'attack' can be extremely damaging for local businesses.
Aberdeen is Scotland’s third most exposed city to online shopping scams."They go for any kind of animal services, everyone that works in the dog world certainly." Read More Related Articles She said: "It was maybe a couple of weeks ago, we were made aware of them through other dog walkers, but it's not easy to block people from your business page. Speaking to Aberdeen Live, Lauren King, who runs Not a Hare Out of Place, told of her first interaction with the account. These include popular local pet services such as Manky Maggies Self Service Dog Wash, which boast a 4.9 rating and have over 3,000 followers on Facebook and small animal service Not a Hare Out of Place. No less than 2,000 businesses have been targeted, each being given a 'would not recommend' or a one-star rating despite having never interacted with the mysterious user. This is your card from 2010 that I only just got around to sending. Happy Birth-month I know you think this card is a few days late. It is intentionally arriving after your birth-day, because I think you deserve a whole birth-month. The user who posts under the account name 'Frank Whittle' or 'Frank Michael Whittle' has been bombarding grooming businesses up and down the UK with bad reviews. Happy Birthday I promise this card isnt late. Aberdeen dog walkers and groomers have found themselves targeted by a notorious Facebook scam reviewer.