atherthanradicallyexpandingtheallowablenumberofactualcharactersineachtweet,thevir-tuallimitoncharacterswasbeingexpandedbyallowingimagesandothermediatobeembeddedwithoutcountingtowardthecharacterlimit.
I'd say one of the most requested changes to Twitter (that I am aware of) would be expanding the character limit and adding an edit button
“TheRepliesKerfuffle,”21explainingthetechnicalandproductdesignreasonsbehindthechangeandacknowledgingthepoorcommunicationthathadaccompa-nieditsimplementation.Stonerepeatedtheargumentthatonly“3%”ofuserswantedtoseerepliesfromuserstheyfol-lowedtouserstheydidn’t,
This is an interesting predicament
“Ithinkit’sweirdwhenpeopledostuffwith©repliesthatIthinkshouldbedoneoverDM,”
I agree with this. But I guess it boils down to personal preference when it comes to public or private communication
When,sometimelater,hechangedlifecourseandenrolledinagraduateprogram,heshiftedfromusingthe@forpersonalrelationshipmaintenancetousingitsaffordancesofaddressivity,brevity,andasynchronoustemporalityforprofes-sionalnetworking
This story is good at exemplifying the ease and convenience of communicating via social media
The@usernamesyntaxenabledpeopletorespondto,address,ormentionuserseveniftheyweren’tfollowingeachother.I
Herein lies the core power of the '@' symbol on Twitter; it allows for communication
Firstdevelopedintypographyandshorthandasameansofindicating“at”
This makes sense and comes full circle when you apply the meaning of the symbol in the context of modern Twitter
Atthetime,itspromptaskeduserstorespondtothequestion“Whatareyoudoing?”
Many social media websites use similar prompts in their empty text boxes
Inaplatformdesignedtoannounceratherthanconverse,
This is an interesting perspective
Homoconnectivity—which I have defined as an arrangement of power that profits from the extraction of social production and potentiality from queer communities through on-line spaces, social media, technologies, and/or software—keys critics and users into a new modality of rainbow capitalism beyond commodifi-cation.
I like this definition of homoconnectivity
In June 2019, the company unleashed its latest innovation: Grindr Unlimited. For US $39.99 a month, users buy the ability to scroll an endless queue of profiles, see who has viewed their page, and know when another user is typing a reply: a homocon-nective intensification that sells users surveillance, a connectivity that further “transforms public space into private space, thereby reducing the contact sport of cruising to a practice of networking”
This price point seems steep to me, but the features may be worth it to some people
As Grindr made clear in April 2018, the company approaches users’ profiles as completely pub-lic information. It had no qualms with sharing data on people’s serosta-tuses and locations with partner businesses (Singer, 2018). Grindr does not hide that it uses these rich caches of information—like profiles, con-versations, and screen time—to attract advertisers and further narrow-cast the content discussed in the next section.
This is an interesting and surprisingly transparent approach to privacy policies and practices
Navigating Grindr can be experientially boisterous—its interface stuffed with a cascading grid of user photos, pop-up ads, and red noti-fications dots—but how the app slyly moves to not be noticed is just as important as tracing how it renders the self and others salient.
I personally dislike this cluttered format when it comes to apps and websites
shaping the affective and attentional economies of users towards for-profit technolo-gies; externalizing sites, performances, and communication of queer de-sires; quantifying, financializing, and sharing users’ activities; and sell-ing back to users the experience of immediacy, intimacy, and (stranger) sociability often constitutive of queerness and queer spaces.
This is what sets Grindr apart, according to the author
Highest among these cravings is connectivity. In exchange for their time, attention, and social produc-tion, users taste moments of sociality that hide the underbelly “fueled by data, automated and organized through algorithms and interfaces, formalized through ownership relations driven by business models, and governed through user agreements
This is interesting to me. It's easy to forget that these apps where we connect socially and share human interaction is simply coding, data, and algorithms. Also, the bottom line is always business and profit
In what follows, I establish the concept of homoconnectivity to then zoom into Grindr as a specific instantiation of its data extraction. I join a growing group of scholars (Faris, 2018; Race, 2015; Shield, 2018; Woo, 2015; Yeo & Fung, 2018) taking Grindr itself as a text to counteract a general trend in queer media research that “treats the medium of de-livery—television, radio, film, the internet, and so on—as neutral, uni-versal, or presumptively masculine”
This passage is crucial to understanding the author's communicative goals
This follows a U.S. government trend of questioning how companies located in China might be pressured by the Chinese government to give up user data. In the case of Grindr, its collection of users’ sex practices, locations, and serostatuses could make rich fodder for Chinese agents to coerce peo-ple who might not be openly queer into carrying out military and cor-porate espionage
I've heard of similar instances of this. I can't remember the specifics, but somehow a gay dating app had its information breached by the government and was being used to out people.
eleased in 2009, Grindr is a geolocative mobile applica-tion with over 3.8 million daily active users who are primarily men-who-have-sex-with-men, as well as transwomen and non-binary individuals
I have a general idea what Grindr is but this definition is helpful
Keywords: Datafication, digital rhetoric, homonormativity, interface, platforms, privacy
These are important key words to remember
GivenMasterchef’stargetdemographic,thecultural middle ground and‘everyday’cooks, Goodwin’s persona (an endearing andaccessible suburban mum) worked well for its brand.
This is a good example when it comes to how brands will select certain personalities that align with the image they wish to project
self-branding through social media does not require initial affiliationwith the‘already powerful’.
Herein lies the beauty of self-branding. You don't need any prior connections to be successful at it. I feel like we sort of self-brand ourselves in real life, too
‘instafame’
I wonder if the "insta" portion of this term applies to the word instant or the app Instagram, which is a platform that many have gone viral on
Here,we see the“self”as a commodity for sale in the labour market, which must generate itsown rhetorically persuasive packaging, its own promotional skin, within the confines ofthe dominant corporate imaginary
This quote is helpful to me when it come to understanding the purpose and mechanics of self-branding
For example, when news broke of TigerWoods’extramarital infidelities in late 2009, several sponsors suspended their contractswith him almost immediately, including Accenture, AT&T, Gatorade, General Motors,Gillette and TAG Heuer.
This examplifies how brands can drop people who don't supporttheir image
anyone can be famous
I 100% agree. Unlike in the past, anyone has the potential to go viral in the age of the internet
Social media tacitly promises fame (and subsequent wealth) to‘ordinary’usersand thus encourages practices of micro-celebrity.(2) Within a political culture of neoliberal individualism, self-branding is encouragedwith the promise of reward.(3) The commercial viability of some Social Media Influencers (SMIs; to be discussedshortly), whose success depends on self-branding and practices of micro-celebrity,has proven to be both inspirational and seemingly replicable
These reasons should be noted
The opportunity may lie in social media (and/or reality television) to help build a strongfan base, sizable enough to interest advertisers.
This makes sense and explains the rise of influencers
modicum
This is a word I do not know
Many sitcoms are characterized by am-bivalent sexual politics: they embody a certain rebellion against hegemonic masculinity, yet at the same time re-inforce traditional norms through the comic framing of their protagonists.
As a film major I spend a lot of time analyzing tropes and the depiction of men vs. women in media. This passage aligns with my observations
The prominence of “flawed masculinity” in this col-lection of memetic videos can be seen as an extreme manifestation of men’s representation in contemporary mass media genres, particularly the sitcom.
It's interesting to apply the study of memes and internet culture to gender issues
“We Are the 99 Percent”
I remember this movement
A pivotal aspect of viral diffusion is the packaging of mes-sages. Berger and Milkman found that clear and simplenews stories spread better than complex ones.
This does not surprise me. It makes a lot of sense. Messages are easier to receive when they are clear and concise
Positive high-arousal is embedded in what the au-thors tag as “Awa” stories: pieces that generate a feeling of elevation in the face of something greater than oneself
This is a definition of a term that could be useful later
a striking major-ity (more than 90 percent) of advertisements produced by viral advertising companies include humorous elements
This is highly interesting
One of Berger and Milkman’s key findings is that people are more likely to share positive than negative stories. In ad-dition, they prefer sharing items that are perceived as sur-prising, interesting, or practically useful
This is both interesting and surprising to me . I would have guessed people prefer to share negative stories
I la-bel them as the “six Ps” (or the six-pack, for the marketers among you): positivity, provocation of high-arousal emotions, participation, packaging, prestige, and positioning
These are important terms to be noted
will tackle the issue of viral-ity, that is, users’ tendency to propagate certain types of content. Second, I will discuss the memetic qualities that enhance people’s involvement with content by way of re-making, remixing, or imitating
This passage outlines the objectives of the article
The first focuses on political contexts: Pike is shown pepper-spraying iconic American symbols such as George Washington crossing the Delaware, the former US presidents on Mount Rush-more, and the Constitution itself, as well as freedom fight-ers across the globe (in Tiananmen Square, for example). These political versions share a clear idea, namely that the officer brutally violated the basic values of justice and free-dom as represented by the protestors. A second group of user-generated images is pop-culture-oriented. In these versions, Pike is pepper-spraying icons such as Snoopy and Marilyn Monroe, as well as a battery of stars identified with other Internet memes, such as “Little Baby Panda” and “Keyboard Cat.” Such pop-culture-oriented meme versions are often open to multiple interpretations.
The differences between these two meme formats cannot be more polarizing
In exploring “Leave Britney Alone” as a meme, we need to examine the distribution of the original video, but per-haps more importantly, we should investigate the struc-ture and meaning of this video’s new variations.
A hallmark of viral memes is the parodies, remixes, and remakes they spawn
Crying and shouting throughout most of the clip, Crocker implored his viewers to “Leave Britney Alone”
I remember this video from a long time ago
I define an Internet meme as:(a) a group of digital items sharing common characteristics of content, form, and/or stance, which (b) were created with awareness of each other, and (c) were circulated, imitated, and/or transformed via the Internet by many users.
This is a key definition
This suggestion is based on two rather simple principles: (a) looking at diffused units as incorporating several memetic dimensions—namely, sev-eral aspects that people may imitate; and (b) understand-ing memes not as single entities that propagate well, but as groups of content units with common characteristics.
This passage is informative in the sense that it outlines the author's stance and intentions for the article
Many studies in this rich tradition focus on the diffusion of “innovations,” occasionally adopt-ing the term “meme” and the general memetic framework.
I used to think memes were simply online images that had went viral. Turns out, memes can be anything
behavior-driven memetics
This could be an important key term to remember
They are not simple ideas such as red, round, or cold, but complex ones such as ideas of the alphabet, chess, or impressionism
This imagery is helpful when it comes to understanding the complexity of memes
Such norms are often rooted in the history of pop-culture genres and fan cultures: music videos, for instance, are replicated as part of broader cultures of jamming, re-mix, and covers that characterize music making.7 These examples of historical roots highlight the ways in which practices of re-creating videos and images blur the lines between private and public, professional and amateur,
This whole passage in very informative
Since memes serve as the building blocks of complex cultures, we need to fo-cus not only on the texts but also on the cultural practices surrounding them.
Memes have become cultural indicators, on par with art or music
This meme incorporated a simple drawing of a man with a long nose looking over a wall, alongside a myste-rious caption: “Kilroy Was Here.” It was launched during World War II, and though its origins are still a matter of debate, the most agreed-upon version, according to Dan-iel Gilmore, links it to a Massachusetts shipyard inspec-tor named James J. Kilroy.3 Kilroy’s job was to examine riveters’ work after they completed their shifts. To keep track of his inspections, he began marking inspected areas with the phrase “Kilroy Was Here.” When the ships were completed and launched to the battlefield, soldiers no-ticed these scribblings. Kilroy appeared everywhere, even in the weirdest and most unexpected internal parts of the ships. Soldiers began to inscribe the slogan on diverse sur-faces, and at some point they added a drawing of a little man with a big nose. A meme was born.
I find this whole example fascinating. Memes aren't solely a product of the internet. They exited far before
it depicts a culture in which memes have a mul-tidimensional presence.
This is important yo remember when analyzing the mechanics of memes
The second strategy of digital meme repackaging, remixing, is a newer one. It involves technology-based manipulation, for instance by Photoshopping an image or adding a new soundtrack. A plethora of user-friendly applications that enable people to download and re-edit content have turned remixing into an extremely popu-lar practice.
Parodies and remixes are not only widely popular, but have the potential to become more popular than the original source
thememe is the best concept to en-capsulate some of the most fundamental aspects of the Internet
This is an important defining statement
: if the former tends to describe recent, often short-lasting fads, longevity is the key to “serious” memetics, since successful memes are defined as the ones that survive in the long term.
I agree. I've probably seen hundreds of viral memes in my life, but if you asked me to recite some, I'd probably list off those that have been most prominent and long lasting.
At one end of the spectrum are scholars such as Susan Blackmore, who claims in The Meme Machine that people are merely devices operated by the numerous memes they host and constantly spread.
This is an interesting stance
The word “meme” derives from the Greek mimema, signifying “something which is imitated,” which Dawkins shortened to rhyme with “gene.”
This is an important in understanding the etymology of the word "meme"
Examples of memes in his pioneering essay include cultural artifacts such as melodies, catchphrases, and clothing fashions, as well as abstract beliefs (for instance, the concept of God).
It's interesting because I only see the term meme in reference to online content. I would never think that it was originally applicable to real life clothing or trends
mass-mediated content, which is often transmitted simultaneously from a single institutional source to many people. But this is no longer the case in an era of blurring boundaries between interpersonal and mass, professional and amateur, bottom-up and top-down communications.
In my opinion, this is one of the most definisg aspects of internet culture. ANYONE can spread their message quickly and widely, whereas traditional media comes from insitutions
While enthusiastic advocates argue that the meme concept explains everything and their opponents assert that it explains and changes absolutely nothing,
I had no idea this was a debate
hypermemetic logic
This is another important term
participatory culture.
This is an important term
Internet users are on to something, and researchers should follow.
This is true. The way we communicate online can rear very interesting studies
As illustrated by the Gangnam Style case, a central attribute of Internet memes is their sparking of user-created derivatives articulated as parodies, remixes, or mashups. “
This is an important passage which expands on the above definition of memes
netizens
I don't know this word
The term “meme” was coined by Richard Dawkins in 1976 to describe small units of culture that spread from person to person by copying or imitation.
This is an important definition
How did such a bizarre piece of culture become so successful?
This is a question that can be applied to many, many memes. I think the absurdity contributes to the success
Performed by a South Korean singer named PSY, “Gangnam Style” was the first clip to surpass the one-billion-view mark. But the Gang-nam phenomenon was not only a tale of sheer popular-ity
I remember this happening when I was 13
Thecirculationofmediacontentwithinparticipatoryculturecanservearangeofinterests,somecultural(suchaspromotingaparticu-largenreorperformer),somepersonal(suchasstrengtheningsocialbondsbetweenfriends),somepolitical(suchascritiquingthecon-structionofgenderandsexualitywithinmassmedia),someeconomic(suchasthosewhichservetheimmediateneedsofeverydayindividu-als,aswellasthosewhichservetheneedsofmediacompanies
This outlines just some of the ways online content can pass along an intention
Nomatterhow^^youlookatit,however,theviewershipofthewidelyspreadSusanBoyle£clipdwarfsthatofthehighest-ratedshowonU.S.broadcasttelevi-vi7ision.TheBoylevideowasbroadcastcontentmadepopularthrough^grassrootscirculation
I find this super interesting. You can reach so many more people through internet content nowadays.
Tostart,let’scontrastaU.S.“broadcast”phenomenonwithawidespreadentertainmentclip.Thefinaleofthe2009seasonofAmericanIdoldrew32millionviewersintheU.S.,makingitoneoftheyear’smostviewedtwo-hourblocksonbroadcasttelevision.Incomparison,avideoofScottishwomanSusanBoyleauditioningforBritain'sGotTalentwasviewedmorethan77milliontimesonYouTube
This example is helpful in demonstrating how far online content can reach by comparing it to television media
nstead,the“distribution”reachofstickydestinationsandthe“cir-culation”reachofspreadablemediashouldcoexist,arelationshipaptlyillustratedbya2010experimentbyadvertisingagencyHillHolliday.ThefirmcreatedanonlinemicrositecalledJerzifyYourselfthatallowedvisitorstoremaketheirimageinthestyleofthestarsofpopularMTVtelevisionshowJerseyShore.HillHollidaycreatedthesiteaspartofaprojectresearchingthewayswordspreadaboutcontent.Thesitegeneratedsubstantialwordofmouth,andwasfeaturedinavariety*ofarticlesandblogposts.Beyondjustresearchingtheaudiencesofthoseblogs(theirimmediate“reach”or“distributionpotential”),HillHollidayalsousedaURL-tracingmechanismtoseewhatadditionalNtrafficcamefromtheongoingspreadofthosestoriesandposts
This is a really informative real-life example
Whatwemeanby“spreadability”willbecomeclearerbycontrast-ingitwiththisstickinessmodel.Wecomparethetermsherenottoindicatethatwebtrafficshouldn’tmatterortosuggestthatspread-abilityisthe“opposite”ofstickiness,butrathertodemonstratethelimitsofmodelstoocloselyfocusedonstickiness
Stickiness and spreadability are not opposites, but instead just different models in the field of web traffic.
Onlinepublicationslookatwhicharticlesareviewedthemostandwhichholdpeoplesattentionthelongest.Mediacompaniesassesswhichvideosareviewedthemostandlongest.Nonprofitsandcorporatewebsitesalikedefinesuccessonlinebasedonwebtraffic.
These are good examples of how different online media publications apply stickiness
.Inbroadcastmedia,impressionsaremeasuredbyhowmanypeopleseeaparticularpieceofmedia,whereasstickinessreferstothemechanismsmotivatingpeopletoseekoutandspendtimeataparticularsite.Appliedtothedesignofawebsite,companieshopetoachievestickinessbyplacingmaterialinaneasilymeasuredlocationandassessinghowmanypeopleviewit,howmanytimesitisviewed,andhowlongvisitorsviewit
The comparison of broadcast media to online content helps demonstrate the distinct way stickiness applies to the internet
,“sticki-ness”broadlyreferstotheneedtocreatecontentthatattractsaudienceattentionandengagement.
This is another definition of a key term that should be noted
However,whilenewtoolshaveproliferatedthemeansbywhichpeoplecancirculatematerial,word-of-mouthrecommendationsandthesharingofmediacontentareimpulsesthathavelongdrivenhowpeopleinteractwitheachother.
This is interesting. No matter how technologically advanced our society becomes, word of mouth communication will always be relevant, even when we have so many alternatives
Spreadability”referstothepotential—bothtechni-calandcultural—foraudiencestosharecontentfortheirownpurposes,sometimeswiththepermissionofrightsholders,sometimesagainsttheirwishes.
An important definition of a key term
SpreadableMediafocusesonthesociallogicsandculturalpticesthathaveenabledandpopularizedthesenewplatforms,logicsthatexplainw/y/sharinghasbecomesuchcommonpractice,notjusthow.
This passage is a good summation of the subject of spreadable media
.Asweexplorecirculation,weseethewayvalueandmeaningarecreatedinthemultipleeconomiesthatconstitutetheemergingmedialandscape.Ourmessageissimpleanddirect:ifitdoesn’tspread,it’sdead
This is an informative introduction. Also, the final statement "if it doesn't spread, it's dead" could be helpful to remember.
NewmediacallsforanewstageinmediatheorywhosebeginningsbetracedbacktotherevolutionaryworksofHaroldInnisinthe1950sandMarshallMcLuhaninthe1960s.
The author does a really cool job of adding historical context to such a subject aa modern as digital media.
1.Newmediaisanalogmediaconvertedtoadigitalrepresentation.Incontrasttoanalogmedia,whichiscontinuous,digitallyencodedmediaisdiscrete.2.Alldigitalmedia(texts,stillimages,visualoraudiotimedata,shapes,3-Dspaces)sharethesamedigitalcode.Thisallowsdifferentmediatypestobedisplayedusingonemachine—acomputer—whichactsasamultimediadisplaydevice.3.Newmediaallowsforrandomaccess.Incontrasttofilmorvideotape,whichstoredatasequentially,computerstoragedevicesmakeitpossibletoaccessanydataelementequallyfast.4.Digitizationinevitablyinvolveslossofinformation.Incontrasttoananalogrepresentation,adigitallyencodedrepresentationcontainsafixedamountofinformation.5.Incontrasttoanalogmediawhereeachsuccessivecopylosesquality,digitallyencodedmediacanbecopiedendlesslywithoutdegradation.6.Newmediaisinteractive.Incontrasttooldmediawheretheorderofpresentationisfixed,theusercannowinteractwithamediaobject.Intheprocessofinteractiontheusercanchoosewhichelementstodisplayorwhichpathstofollow,thusgeneratingauniquework.Inthiswaytheuserbecomestheco-authorofthework
I am interested to see how the author would challenge these ideas
Theprincipleofvariabilityexemplifieshow,historically,changesinme-diatechnologiesarecorrelatedwithsocialchange.Ifthelogicofoldmediacorrespondedtothelogicofindustrialmasssociety,thelogicofnewmediafitsthelogicofthepostindustrialsociety,whichvaluesindividualityoverconformity
This is really interesting, especially the part about valuing individuality over conformity.
Thusautomationofmediaaccessbecamethengvrlogicaliqageoftheprocessthathadbeenputintomotionwhenthefirstphotographwastaken
This is a good summarizing statement that accurately communicates the main idea of the passage
CommandandConquer,singleattackersinfirst-personshooterssuchasQuake
I have never heard of these games. Researching them could give me a better understanding of this particular passage
Researchersarealsoworkingonwhatcanbecalled“high-level”automa-tionofmediacreation,whichrequiresacomputertounderstand,toacertaindegree,themeaningsembeddedintheobjectsbeinggenerated,
This is an interesting fact I was not aware of
ThemostlikelyreasonmodernmediahasdiscretelevelsisbecauseitemergedduringtheIndustrialRevolution.
Linking modern media to the Industrial Revolution is very interesting. You would think these two eras have nothing in common!
irst,dataissampled,mostoftenatregu-larintervals,suchaschegridofpixelsusedtorepresentadigitalimage.Thefrequencyofsamplingisreferredtoasresolutton^TciJinRturnsrnnrinuousdataintodiscretedata,thatis,dataoccurringindistinctunitsjpeople,thepagesofabook,pixels.Second,eachsampleisquantified,thatis,itisassignedanumericalvaluedrawnfromadefinedrange
I don't fully understand this explanation entirely, as someone with little experience in programming and technology.
mediabecomesprogrammable
This is an interesting statement
Mediaelementsarestoredinamediadatabase
This is an important term
More narrativeformations emerged from flip books (1868)because of their linear nature
This "linear nature" is mirrored in GIFs; they both tell mini stories
GIFs are promiscuous and frictionless, with low barriers for viewing,possessing, and sharing. It is largely because of its limitations that the GIF thrives nearly two decades after its introduction, sustaining a renewed interest in the loop.
This is an accurate final summation of the GIF; its popularity and abundance exemplifies the power, speed, and vastness of the internet
The result is a haunting moment seemingly stuck in time that typically fetishizes a consumer good or identity
I feel like it was almost inevitable that GIFs became mediums to promote products and advertisements
Many websites served galleries of GIFs, encouraging others to download and use them on their own sites with little regard for who originally created them.
I can see why this can potentially lead to problems amongst creative rights
GIF was published as an open format, hastening its availability and spread.
Things on the internet can travel and spread FAST. It's no wonder so many GIFs have gone viral
The GIF has no maximum resolution and can display up to 256 colors out of a palette ofmillions. (Few computers were capable ofmore colors at the time.) It was designed touse Lempel-Ziv-Welch (LZW) lossless datacompression, which encodes the image bycreating and referencing a ‘dictionary’ ofcommon patterns.
While I don't completely understand this terminology, its important to know the mechanics behind the GIF, as well as its limitations
Phenakistoscopes (1832), zoetropes (1834), and praxinoscopes (1877)offered primarily symmetrical and seamless loops, often illustrations of people or animals in motion.
It's interesting to compare these early flipbooks of the 1800's to something as modern as the GIF
Pornography makes up 11% of Tumblr’s top-visited sites despite being hidden behind a ‘safe search
It's interesting how GIFs can be used to bypass these censors and create problems for those who have to monitor these websites
The result is a digital slang, a visual vocabularyunencumbered byauthorship, where countless media artifacts are viewed, deployed, and elaborated upon as language more than as art product.
The internet has become sort of a world of its own. The GIF being considered internet slang is an example of internet culture
Heated arguments continue to rage online over the issue as users signal status and group affiliation based on their pronunciation. Although no known scientific data exists, online polls for the Washington Post andLos Angeles Times suggest that a majority of users pronounce the word with a hard ‘G’ by at least a 2-to-1 margin.171819
This is important passage because it introduces where the heated debate originates. I always wondered where this discrepancy started
Steve Wilhite, principalengineer of the GIF, pronounced the acroynm ‘jif’.
This is an important figure when it comes to the history of the GIF