Slang Of The Day: GIF
Quick Definition
GIF means Graphics Interchange Format.
The Full Answer
GIF is an acronym that stands for Graphics Interchange Format.
GIF can be pronounced either with a hard “G” (as in gift) or with a soft “G” (as in Jif). Although Steve Wilhite, the creator of the GIF format, intended for it to be pronounced with a soft “G”, most people say it with a hard “G”.
Although it also supports static digital images, GIF is mainly used for its support for animation. Other widely used file storage formats such as PNG and JPEG do not support animated images.
One of the reasons for the current popularity of GIFs is the availability of online GIF makers that allow people to easily create them.
Easy online access to footage from movies…
and TV programs…
and sporting events…
and news events provide an enormous range of raw material from which to generate GIFs.
GIFs are popular for expressing emotional reactions and for sending visual messages. They can add emotional impact to present information in a creative way that connects with people.
Where Would You See GIF?
In texting… and chat… and on messaging apps, such as WhatsApp… and social media, such as Facebook… and Twitter… and Tumblr.
GIF Examples
To all the haters who said I’d never get into college.
When ppl try to tell me how to live MY life.
It’s Friday everyone!
Random GIF Stuff
Each GIF image (or frame) can only hold a maximum of 256 different colors. As such, photos saved in the GIF format tend to look grainy and unrealistic.
The GIF format was first introduced in 1987 by the internet service provider CompuServe. GIF was one of the first image formats used on the web and was the first to support color display, until the arrival of JPEG in 1992.
In 1995, Netscape (the most used web browser at the time) utilized the GIF design that allows users to define new blocks, and implemented the Netscape Application Block, which enabled continuously repeating animation loops. Without this added feature, the GIF format would most likely have died.
GIF was named the Oxford American Dictionaries Word of the Year for 2012.
In May 2015, Facebook added GIF support. They previously hadn’t provided support for GIFs on their site.
Other Meanings
Nothing significant found.