Many a link-baiting slideshow and BuzzFeed post have been using animated GIFS, the moving images assembled from videos, sequences of photos or original animations.
But how did the initially cheesy, early computer and Internet age animation trick using a file format become the au courant method for obsessing over celebrities and being web-ready shorthand for expressing emotions? SXSW has the answer: According to the GIF artists and writers in “The Economy of the GIF,” you can blame your phone and microblogging platform Tumblr.
The GIF lineage goes something like this: they were first used in website banners and as quickie animations in those quaint AOL disc days of the Internet — and then Flash animation came along. Remember when websites resembled the futuristic, highly-interactive interfaces of science fiction films? With those slick drop-down menus and fancy moving ads? That was Flash.
Flash still exists, but with Apple and its iPhone (which famously does not support Flash-based animations or videos), web designers and animators and branding gurus had to rethink their media strategies. Suddenly, entire websites were rendered unreadable on phones and other mobile screens.
So as Flash fell out of fashion, simpler web designs prevailed and led to a GIF renaissance of sorts — because GIFs will still display on phones and tablets and other magic, mini computer devices. And it helps that social networking sites and phone web browsers have made using the Internet much more photo-centric (hence, Tumblr).
Plus, GIFs, says writer Lindsey Weber (who’s done some GIF work for BuzzFeed and New York magazine) are better representations of how we consume the Internet in 2013.
“[GIFs] span this space between photos and videos,” Weber says. “The GIF takes the best parts of a photo and the best parts of a video and puts them together. It’s just a better way to ingest that.”
And they’ve become so wildly popular, argues artist Jimmy Repeat (who’s GIFed for MTV in the past), they’ve become a new art form all in themselves.
“GIF is the new medium because it’s more of a challenge than a static image,” he says.
Perhaps their greatest claim to legitimacy is their looming legal precedent: Weber says GIF-related lawsuits and copyright cases are just around the bend — she’s come up against all kinds of rights issues with the GIFs she worked with.
But for now, there’s still plenty of GIF fun to be had. Just go on Tumblr and get lost for days.
Towering above
Austin named a top 'city on the rise' on new booming job markets list
When it comes to jobs and workforce talent, Austin is a city on the rise, according to a new ranking from professional networking and career development platform LinkedIn. The Austin metro area ranks 18th on LinkedIn’s first-ever Cities on the Rise list.
San Antonio was the only other Texas city to make the list, coming in a few places behind Austin, at No. 23.
“We analyzed LinkedIn’s exclusive labor market data to identify 25 emerging metro areas where hiring is accelerating, job postings are surging, and talent migration is reshaping local economies,” the platform says.
The list features midsize metros with fewer than 2.5 million LinkedIn members. The full report includes insights on the average income and home listing prices in the metro, as well as top destinations for residents (compiled using Lyft data), "providing a window into the places shaping each city’s culture."
LinkedIn says Austin earned its No. 18 position thanks to major corporate relocations, a data center boom, and investments by tech giants. These factors “are sustaining Austin’s continued rise as a vibrant hub for job growth and stimulating billions of dollars in local infrastructure projects to keep up with the metro’s growth,” says LinkedIn.
Top industries hiring in Austin include professional services, technology, and manufacturing; the city's top employers are The University of Texas at Austin, Dell Technologies, and Apple, the study says.
Adding to the city's appeal, according to LinkedIn, the average income in Austin is $80,470, average home listing price is $805,670, and "Nightlife is the star in the capital of the Lone Star state, with locals most likely to make their way to a concert, club or bar."
How San Antonio compares
In assigning the No. 23 spot to San Antonio, LinkedIn says the metro area “is reinventing itself as a rising tech and manufacturing hub — drawing Gen Z job seekers and out-of-state talent.”
Top industries hiring in San Antonio include professional services, healthcare, and government administration. Not surprisingly, the city's top employers are listed as USAA, U.S. Air Force, and H-E-B.
According to LinkedIn, the average income in San Antonio is $59,480, and average home listing price is $470,160 (much lower than Austin's).
As for hotspots that attract young professionals, "the city’s iconic River Walk serves as the heart of the city’s vibrant nightlife, drawing locals to nearby bars and restaurants," the study says.
Grand Rapids, Michigan, grabbed the top spot on the Cities on the Rise list for midsize areas.
A separate ranking for large metro areas with more than 2.5 million LinkedIn members puts the San Francisco Bay Area at No. 1. LinkedIn says this signals “that job market momentum is driving the metro’s post-pandemic revival.”
Neither Dallas-Fort Worth nor Houston appears in this 10-city ranking.
