When is a connection not really communication? When it’s on the internet, of course. Engineers and software programmers have made it easy to connect electronically, but connecting and truly communicating is completely different. Being understood is one of the most powerful things that can happen to any of us, says psychologist, Brian Sullivan. It is critical to our health and well-being. But misunderstandings are commonplace, much more so in the digital age, where our capacity to reach more people has far outstripped our ability to truly connect. To fully leverage the global potential of the internet, we must be better able to understand and be understood at the level that matters most – emotionally.

A clinical psychologist, College of Charleston professor, and co-founder of Vizbii, Brian Sullivan uses his talents and insatiable curiosity for how people think and behave to better understand how technology can bring us together, not push us apart. With 22 years of first-hand experience in the power of clearer communications and stronger connections for health and well-being, Brian and his team have taken the concept of the emoji and turned it from a cute footnote or add-in to a message into a way to truly transmit a level of satisfaction, happiness or other emotion within a message.