Lunchtime Links: Don’t Discount the Animated GIF

Could GIFs be making history? According to The New York Times, they’ve already taken over the digital world—especially when, as the one from Mashable above does  (opens in a new tab), they feature Taylor Swift. Are they worth your marketing time?

That, and more, in today’s Lunchtime Links:

Moment in motion: Celebrity and cat GIFs commonly go viral and are revived through articles on BuzzFeed or Tumblr. But GIFs have become much more than just cats playing with a computer. The New York Times  (opens in a new tab)explores the birth, rise, and evolution of GIFs and their popularity on the interwebz. “The GIF has evolved from a medium for pop-cultural memes into a tool with serious applications including research and journalism, and its lexical identity is transforming to keep pace,” Katherine Martin, the head of the United States dictionaries program at Oxford University Press, told the Times. Think you might add animated GIFs to your creative toolkit anytime soon?

Answer my question, Bill: The one and only Bill Gates graced the Reddit community  (opens in a new tab) with his presence this past Tuesday by answering questions via an AMA (ask me anything) session. He talked about the future of technology, what he does on his time off to “disconnect,” and his achievements with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. What device does one of the richest men in the world use on a daily basis? Gates answered questions via an 80-inch Windows Tablet, which, according to Business Insider  (opens in a new tab), is his primary device. Gates’ appearance helped draw attention to his philanthropy efforts.

Social network of choice: As you plan your next event, consider that most attendees will use a gamut of social media platforms, and you’ll want them to be sharing event highlights no matter which platform they’re using. Especially Instagram. With more and more people using Instagram, you should be prepared to interact with your attendees through the network. EventChecklist has some tips  (opens in a new tab)on how to use Instagram to your advantage before and during the event, such as creating an event tag, doing behind-the- scenes photo shoots, and republishing other event content on the network. How do you use Instagram during events?

What’s on your reading list today? Let us know in the comment section below.

(via Mashable.com)