The internet’s favorite type of picture, the GIF, has finally made its way to Facebook’s Timeline. Sort of. Giphy, a website that’s basically a search engine for GIFs, recently designed a workaround to get animated pictures onto your Facebook page. Giphy has created a code that makes GIFs loop on Facebook, and it works exactly like posting a link to a video. You can’t upload any GIF you want, though – it has to be one you find on Giphy’s site. Once you find an image you want to share, copy the URL from that page or click “Share GIF” to add it to your Timeline or Newsfeed. Your Facebook friends will see it as a video, and when they click the play button you’ll get the looping GIF animation we’ve come to know and love. Facebook commented by saying the site does not support animated GIFs. While the workaround is somewhat limited and is far from officially sanctioned, GIFs have at long last made their way to Facebook.
About Shelly Palmer
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with technology, media and marketing. Named LinkedIn’s “Top Voice in Technology,” he covers tech and business for Good Day New York, is a regular commentator on CNN and writes a popular daily business blog. He's a bestselling author, and the creator of the popular, free online course, Generative AI for Execs. Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com.