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With 200 Million Daily Users, Giphy Will Soon Test Sponsored GIFs (techcrunch.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the it's-about-time dept.

Giphy, the four-year-old search engine for GIFs with 200 million daily active users, will soon start testing sponsored GIFs within messaging experiences. "This means that users who search for GIFs may be served a sponsored GIF within the messaging tab," reports TechCrunch. From the report: There are some obvious use-cases here: A search for "Monday" or "morning" might turn up a Starbucks GIF. But there is also an opportunity for brands, especially movies and TV shows (which makes up a huge portion of Giphy's content), to work their existing content into people's messages. Structurally, this isn't too different from what Google does with search terms. If you search for "Walmart," you'll more than likely see a sponsored listing for both Walmart and Target. With Giphy, however, searches are rarely for specific brands but rather based around certain actions, reactions or emotions. With the forthcoming sponsored messaging product, a search for "Wooo" might turn up a GIF of someone pouring Jose Cuervo shots. A search for "cheers" might show folks clinking two Budweiser beer bottles together.

50 comments

  1. Yay, more buzzword bingo! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    WTF does "messaging experiences" mean? I swear, this shit never ends...and I don't mean endlessly looping GIFs, except maybe in this case that actually fits... -PCP

    1. Re:Yay, more buzzword bingo! by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      It's microstock for animated GIFs, apparently. Mmmm-kay.

    2. Re:Yay, more buzzword bingo! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, why is everything now a [something] experience?

    3. Re:Yay, more buzzword bingo! by Desler · · Score: 1

      It's the lingo you get when you let UX designers go crazy.

    4. Re:Yay, more buzzword bingo! by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 2

      I think I'll open a stock website for single pixels. I know in advance that I'll only need 16777216 pixels for the whole catalog.

      The hard part will be the watermarking.

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    5. Re:Yay, more buzzword bingo! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > Yeah, why is everything now a [something] experience?

      Because all those trendy UX designers have to feel productive, so they focus on "experience" instead of having to worry about pesky little things like products and services...

    6. Re:Yay, more buzzword bingo! by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 1

      I'd guess its marketing, not UX designers. UX designers are the ones who make our software's interface pretty and less usable.

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    7. Re:Yay, more buzzword bingo! by infolation · · Score: 2
      For example the soon-to-be-announced 'jquery' experience, in which the CDN hosting your scripts will start inserting 'brand experience' messages into your code. eg:

      Man, I really love your use of that StarbucksEaseOutBounce

  2. A search for "slashdot editor" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Turned up a gif of an epileptic incontinent chimpanzee.

    1. Re:A search for "slashdot editor" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      See, this right here is why we must ban assault gifs!

  3. Ever upward, Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Goodbye cat gifs...

    Hello cat food gifs.

    1. Re:Ever upward, Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      More like good bye Giphy. Your services weren't that original nor irreplaceable.

  4. Jose Cuervo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Who the fuck is Jose Cuervo?

    p.s.: cord-cutter for over a decade.

  5. huh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Never heard of "Starbucks" thank goodness for advertising!

    1. Re:huh by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      It looks like a "coffee" chain.

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
  6. Alcohol and coffee by TimothyHollins · · Score: 1

    I get the distinct feeling the author was thirsty when writing this...

  7. I get it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    > A search for "cheers" might show folks clinking two Budweiser beer bottles together.

    So if I were to search for renting beer, I'd get the same gif?

    1. Re:I get it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I suggest doing an image search for "lemon party" instead. It more accurately portrays these "messaging experiences." -PCP

    2. Re: I get it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why PCP why not the more manageable, less psychosis inducing, 4-MeO-PCP

  8. What next, ads in our dreams? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Leela: "Didn't you have ads in the 21st century?"

    Fry: "Well sure, but not in our dreams. Only on TV and radio, and in magazines, and movies, and at ball games... and on buses and milk cartons and t-shirts, and bananas and written on the sky. But not in dreams, no siree!"

  9. This is gonna die Real Soon Now by Snotnose · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If I hover over an animated GIF and see an ad, guess what? I'm gone. Doesn't matter if it's a 1 second ad, I've got good reflexes.

    Possibly smart idea paired with no clue on how people consume your content.

    1. Re:This is gonna die Real Soon Now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If an ad gets past my script/ad blocker... guess what? I don't ever buy whatever shitstain was advertised.

    2. Re:This is gonna die Real Soon Now by burtosis · · Score: 2

      If an ad gets past my script/ad blocker... guess what? I don't ever buy whatever shitstain was advertised.

      If only normal people acted this way the internet would be a much better place.

    3. Re:This is gonna die Real Soon Now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yep. This just means gyfcat and imgur are going to suddenly start seeing about 200 million more daily users![1]

      [1] Obvious hyperbole by me, since the three sites already share most of their traffic from social media sites, so one going under won't create much of a spike in daily users of the others.

    4. Re:This is gonna die Real Soon Now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ... and this is why we can't have nice things. People these days only want stuff for free... free... and more free.

    5. Re:This is gonna die Real Soon Now by Ashylarry · · Score: 1

      I think the idea isn't that it's an explicit ad, but rather product placement in the top result gifs

    6. Re:This is gonna die Real Soon Now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Would it be better for you if we developed a special .gif format that could play sound as well? You know, for more end-user engagement factor. Just throwing ideas out there.
      -Marketing

    7. Re:This is gonna die Real Soon Now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I agree, to a certain extent: But what would be your proposal for their site to make money?

  10. Just another reason by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 1

    Just another reason to hate giphy.

    Not that I needed another reason.

    --
    #DeleteChrome
  11. Not sure how effective this will be... by ToTheStars · · Score: 1

    How many people here actually search for gifs on Giphy (or any other gif-hosting site)? Mostly I share and find links to Giphy from other sites.

    1. Re:Not sure how effective this will be... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Forget to click the AC button there deary?

    2. Re:Not sure how effective this will be... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It sounds like they'll start returning advertising gifs to Facebook messenger in with the actual results.

    3. Re:Not sure how effective this will be... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nope, I accidentally clicked the "post as sexconker" button.

      That's what I get for letting my karma get too low... :-P

  12. Jargon overload by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "sponsored GIFs within messaging experiences"

    Could they possibly come up with a more tortured way to say "ad"?

  13. Welp. Bout that time then! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    127.0.0.1 giphy.com

    See ya never again.

  14. Re:Who would... apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That was the worst impression of apk I've ever had the misfortune to read.

  15. Re:Welp. Bout that time then! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So you've banned Google and Slashdot? Both show you ads of things you weren't looking for...

  16. Re:Who would... apk by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

    AVI in 2017, are you serious?!

    --
    #DeleteFacebook
  17. Re: Welp. Bout that time then! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I never see ads on /. or Google... I guess ublock is doing its job :-)

  18. I hope they die by philmarcracken · · Score: 1

    As does the practice of calling motion compressed video files gifs. People still search for 'how to make gifs' instead of 'how to make webms'.

  19. If you post GIFs, you may be stupid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There really is no other explanation for taking high-quality imagery and video in superior color-depth and compression rate, and downgrading it to a 30 year old format.

    And if you're running sites like Giphy and Imgur that literally LIVE off of stupid people, then you're even stupider.

  20. Re:Who would... apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No. If he was serious, he would know that Sponsored Shockwave kicks AVI's butt.

  21. Well, I remembered this time! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I don't know, but I'm sure creimer will link you to a "relevant" book about it on Amazon.

  22. Re:Welp. Bout that time then! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So you've banned Google and Slashdot? Both show you ads of things you weren't looking for...

    Their ads, yes.
    Doesn't everyone?
    Well, unless you're in advertising.
    Then you tell us how we're freeloaders.

  23. Bottom line by gsslay · · Score: 1

    When you search for something it'll lead with what they're being paid to show you, rather than what is the most accurate/popular/relevant thing to show you.

    We shall see if people will accept that. I'm thinking they won't.

    Google get away with this because they're only showing text and it's mostly clear what's the advert and what's the results.

  24. Normal People? You Insensitive Clod, Motherucker. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Normal People? You Insensitive Clod, Motherucker.