Follow
STATES CHRONICLE – Graphics Interchange Format – also known simply as GIFs – has become wildly popular across the Internet, most recently taking over Tumblr. The users of the social and entertainment platform are known for their mad love for sharing GIFs, so the administration has decided rolling out a “GIF Maker” is only logical.
The new mobile-only tool allows iPhone users to turn their burst photos or videos into GIFs in no time. Instead of launching a standalone application, Tumblr decided to integrate the new feature in the core of the main mobile app.
Tumblr engineering lead Kevin Grant made it clear how the GIF Maker was the next feature in line, seeing that Tumblr is home to the GIF, offering “GIF curation, GIF search, and Tumblr TV initiative.” Unsurprisingly, Grant is also the project manager on the new tool, and he’s rather excited about it, considering how long the idea has been on the table.
Some would argue Tumblr has joined the party a little late, given the many GIF-making apps crowding the GIF creation space as of late; just think of the popular Giphy, Giffiti, or DSCO from VSCO, for example. But the company explained it wanted to wait until mobile devices became powerful enough to sustain an easy process of converting videos to the GIF format.
Therefore, Tumblr decided to make its GIF Maker available mobile-only, where the great majority of Tumblrers are, and also make sure it’s simple enough for anyone to be able to manage the feature with just a few taps. Small tests agree the GIF Maker is as easy to use as Tumblr had described it to be.
All you need to do in order to access the new feature is tap the “Compose” button on the main page of the Tumblr application. Next, choose to create a “Photo” post, which will prompt the option to filter your phone’s images by “GIFs” right at the bottom of the screen.
According to, Tumblr founder David Karp, a lot of the photos captured by iPhones today are ready to be GIF’ed in just a few simple steps. The feature has actually included an automatic scan that looks for videos and burst photos it can convert to GIFs.
All the ones that fit the criteria will be displayed with a small “GIF” label attached, explained Karp. This will serve as a constant reminder for the Tumblr creators that creating GIFs is something the platform is now equipped to do.
Image Source: PC Magazine
