While the debate rages on as to whether they are “Gifs” or “Jifs”, a new debate rages in the moving picture world; do they belong in Facebook?
You can find GIFs for every situation over here on IMGUR
Whether it is a wise move or not, Facebook now allows users to post animated moving images to the news feed and comments.
Using GIFs in social media is hardly new, in fact they have largely been attributed responsibility for the downfall of MySpace. This was largely owing to the file sizes slowing down older networks, but has the ever improving internet infrastructure paved a way for GIFs to return?
They certainly have been growing in popularity recently, but have the dual ability of being hilarious while making platforms look tacky.
Needless to say, it’s a ballsy move from Facebook to piggy back on the popularity of a simple animated image, but it’s risky. Nevertheless, here’s a few tips for getting up and running.
Using GIFs on Facebook
1. You cannot, yet, upload GIFs from your computer to Facebook. Well you can, but they won’t be animated. You’ll need to copy the URL of a GIF into your status or comment box before it will work.
2. Imgur, Twitter and Reddit are great places to find GIFs for all situations. Just search for reaction GIFs
3. Have the perfect content for a GIF but it’s stuck in a video? Imgur has you covered with this Video to GIF maker. Imgur then hosts your GIF too!
The Last Word
It’s really hard to call if this is a good idea or not, but the important thing that you know them as GIFs, with a strong “G”. Discuss…
