It’s no secret that I am a big fan of GIFs, if you get the ChurchMag newsletter, or happen to be in the ChurchMag Slack channel, you’ll have seen me send a GIF…or 20. The thing is, I am not alone. Although GIFs have been around for an incredibly long time in computer format terms, they are now more popular than ever and are even changing the way some people communicate. If you are involved in youth ministry, then it is vital you understand how GIFs are changing the way we communicate to enable you to communicate more effectively.
What Are GIFs?
GIF stands for “Graphical Information Format” and was invented in 1987 [ready for the great pronunciation debate]. The inventor stated it was pronounced/dʒɪf/ as an inside joke about the peanut butter brand. That goes against the standard way of pronouncing abbreviations where each letter would be used in the same was as it is in its full length word/gɪf/. If you take a descriptive approach to language (as I do) then none of that matter, what matter is how people actually use the word. Most people use/gɪf/ not/dʒɪf/ (which also happens to follow the standard pronunciation guidelines) so I use/gɪf/.
GIFs are unlike a other graphical formats in that they can contain animated graphics rather than just a single frozen moment. The file standard is notoriously low quality and animated GIFs are often larger than other images (they have more data after all).
Early famous GIFs were of dancing babies and dancing bananas, now it’s more common to see clips from a film or TV show OR several photos stitched together.
If a Picture is Worth 1,000 Words, a GIF is Worth…
While memes are very popular (my brother had to download a meme generator on his phone so he could communicate at his workplace…I’m not making that up), GIFs are quickly eclipsing them. Within the last year Facebook, Twitter and Google plus all added support for GIFs on their platform following their popularity on Tumblr, other newer social media platforms and of course, Buzzfeed. Many popular third party keyboards (on both iOS and Android) now have GIF options, GIF cameras are more common and there are entire websites devoted to GIFs.
This is an important trend as GIFs have become more popular, it’s become easier to send them. That makes it even more popular to send them.
The reason for this popularity is apparent. With a GIF, you can share a short repeating clip of a single action, emotion or idea. Instead of the static (and perhaps confusing) emoji of a man laughing, a GIF can show a child laughing…then falling off their chair. Much more effective communication I’m sure you’ll agree.
Also GIFs are important for inside references and cultural clues. When you see a GIF from a TV show you know and watch, you feel good knowing you got the reference. When someone communicates to people using references they know and understand, they feel more connected and a part of that communicate (he gets me, he also watches X and likes that joke).
Within teen culture, these inside references can be important, so using the same language as them can show that you are at least seeking to understand them and communicate with them.
Stay on Top of Things
Maybe GIFs will go into decline at some point of be replaced with another form of communicate, but at the moment, GIFs are an incredibly popular way to communicate. If you are in the business of communicating Jesus, it’s good to be able to do it effectively.
Eric Dye says
So true, Chris. It’s wise of us to hone this communication style me thinks. 🙂