Following the move to bring Gif support to Search, Google has shared that it will now support animated Gifs as Google+ profile photos. The company announced this news today on its Google+ page, in direct contrast to Twitter’s move to drop support for such images back in September. According to the announcement, animated Gifs are now supported on both desktop and mobile devices. We tested the new feature for ourselves and can confirm that it works on the desktop (see my Gif’d face here), but we’re yet not seeing them in the Google+ mobile apps. Animated Gifs have experienced a resurgence lately, regaining popularity in part through networks like Tumblr. The Cinemagraph-style in particular has played an interesting role in making Gifs a more respectable medium.
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.