30 Years of GIF

The image type GIF is now 30 years old. But fewtechnologies survive more than 5 years, let alone 30 years without majorchanges. In the last few years, a lot hasa lot has changed in terms of technology. Our phones that we carry around in our pocketsare 20 times more powerful and versatile than the PCs of 10 years ago.This has also changed behavior on the Internet. Where websites used to bewere made for the desktop, it is now important that phones can also use the entire site.phones can also use the entire site. The format for HTML we are already inthe 5th version which can now also be used to make responsivewebsites. The video format has been changed from the standard FLV to MP4and the HTML5 video player has completely replaced Adobe flash.

Technology that does not develop further is in mostmost cases phased out. But the GIF has stood the test of time with nochanges. And the GIF image is now used more than ever.

The beginning of GIF

The GIF was first developed and used in 1987.It began as a new image format with data compression that ensuredthe file size to be smaller than the BMP format of the time. Thisresulted in a rapid adoption of the GIF format in web browsers. The GIFsas we know them today were introduced in 1989, these are the moving picturesimages that you see everywhere. Whether it's on social media or in a news article.is. They started out as static pictures.

The second start of the GIF

Many of the earlier GIFs were the images that were usedwere used on websites to express all sorts of things and make them look pretty. Think here especially of websites that were madewere made for portfolios and hobby purposes. I can mainly alwaysremember websites made by teenage girls or boys that were full ofwith all these busy GIFs that would make you sick to your stomach.

With MySpace and Hyves as this was mainly popular in the NetherlandsNetherlands you saw this also more and more. People who wanted to add their own flairtheir own flair by adding GIFs. When MySpace and Hyves slowly disappearedand the Youtube website grew, the use of GIFs decreased. InForums they have always remained popular.

But when Tumblr grew in popularity in 2009 the GIFssoon came back. What was different now was that it was not just using flashyflashy text and images. But also little snippets offavorite movies and TV series. This soon spread to all cornersof media that used GIFs.

Gifs in 2017 and the future

With mobile phones and the new way ofcommunication, the GIF is now at its potential peak. Virtually everything is beingcondensed and broken down for quick and short communication. GIFs areextremely well suited for that. From 2 seconds to several minutes is usuallycommon for GIFs. They are quick to load and take up relatively little data.use. This ensures that they also can be used a lot with a mobile data subscriptionThis ensures that they can be used a lot without immediately draining your bundle. WhereA movie, for example, does.

The GIF is far from being at the end of its tether. WithWith three billion mobile users it will have a long future.