Tumblr Has a GIF For You
June 30, 2015
Facebook recently enabled users to post GIF images on the social media platform. Reddit was in an uproar over the new GIF and celebrated by posting random moving images from celebrities making weird faces to the quintessential cute kitten. GIFs are an Internet phenomenon and are used by people to express their moods, opinions, or share their fandom. Another popular social medium platform, Tumblr, the microblogging site used to share photos, videos, quotes, and more, has added a GIF search, says PCMag in “Tumblr Adds New GIF Search Capabilities.”
The main point of Tumblr is the ability share content either a user creates or someone else creates. A user’s Tumblr page is a personal reflection of themselves and GIFs are one of the ultimate content pieces to share. Tumblr’s new search option for GIFs is very simple: a user picks the + button, clicks the GIF button, and then search for the GIF that suits your mood. A big thing on Tumblr is citing who created a piece and the new search option has that covered:
“Pick the GIF you want and it slinks right in, properly credited and everything,” the company said. “Whoever originally posted the GIF will be notified accordingly. On their dashboard, on their phone, all the regular places notifications go.”
GIFs are random bits of fun that litter the Internet and quickly achieve meme status. They are also easy to make, which appeals to people with vey little graphic background. They can make something creative and fun without much effort and now the can be easily found and shared on Tumblr.
Whitney Grace, June 30, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Image Search Might Not Be Enough
April 9, 2015
Did you know there is a Google of image search? No, it is not the image option on the actual Google search engine. Rather it is Giphy aka the Google of GIFs (and a way to kill an hour) is stepping up into the world by buying other startups. TechCrunch reports that, “Giphy’s First Acquisition, Nutmeg, Is A Big Step Towards Mobile.”
Giphy has been interested in expanding its mobile search offerings and they recently acquired Nutmeg, a mobile GIF messaging app that makes it easier to send those fun moving pictures in a text message. Giphy founder Alex Chung and Nutmeg founder Julie Logan have discussed a partnership for the past year and after a recent $17 million round of funding by Giphy it felt like the right time.
“ ‘Nutmeg and Giphy share the same philosophy, but Julie brings a lot of expertise around what we’re doing from the mobile perspective, and that’s invaluable,’ said Chung. ‘The simplicity, the curation and the UX and the UI, drew us to Nutmeg.’ ”
GIFs are a universal Internet language with many of them transforming into memes and making the Reddit rounds. GIFs lucrative market due to their popularity and there is money to be made there.
Whitney Grace, April 9, 2015
Stephen E Arnold, Publisher of CyberOSINT at www.xenky.com
Study Find Millennials Willing to Pay for News to a Point
March 26, 2015
The article titled Millennials Say Keeping Up With the News Is Important To Them—But Good Luck Getting Them To Pay For It on NiemanLab explores the findings of a recent study by the Media Insight Project in partnership with the American Press Institute. A great deal of respondents get their news from Facebook, although the majority (88%) said it was only occasionally. Twitter and Reddit also made the list. Interestingly, millennials claimed multiple access methods to news categories across the board. The article states,
“The survey asked respondents how they accessed 24 different news topics, from national politics and government to style, beauty, and fashion. Facebook was either the number one or two source of information for 20 of the 24 topics, and in nine of those topics it was the only source cited by a majority of respondents. Search was the second most popular source of information, ranking first or second in 13 of the 24 news topics.”
In spite of the title of the article, most millennials in the study were willing to pay for at least one subscription, either digital or print. The article doesn’t mention the number of people involved in the study, but deeper interviews were held with 23 millennials, which is the basis for the assumptions about broader unwillingness to pay for the news, whether out of entitlement or a belief that access to free news is a fundamental pillar of democracy.
Chelsea Kerwin, March 26, 2015
Stephen E Arnold, Publisher of CyberOSINT at www.xenky.com

