Sandy Trevor, Wilhite’s boss at CompuServe, needed the programmer to solve two major problems for him. In fact, the internet hadn’t even been born yet. Yet, when Wilhite was tasked by his employer, CompuServe, to create the GIF back in 1986, bringing “fun” to the internet was not exactly what the tech company had in mind. Regardless of the tone of a file, GIFs have a way of adding an element of fun to just about any custom writing or social media post. Today’s GIFs run the gamut from simple to advanced, and from downright goofy to educational, with many falling well into the “satirical” category. If you have trouble remembering that, think of Wilhite’s moniker, which references the once-popular JIF commercial: “Choosy developers choose GIF.” And three, it’s “ graphic-ical interchange format,” not “ germ-ical interchange format.” For one, it alleviates confusion between the cute little films and the peanut butter brand. Although you pronounce “graphic” with a hard “g,” the inventor of the GIF, Steve Wilhite, is adamant that you pronounce GIF with a soft “g,” as in “jiffy.” Don’t feel bad if you’ve been pronouncing it incorrectly, or if you continue to do so, as there are several reasons people of the internet prefer the hard “g” approach. How, then, did these short looping animations transcend their obscure ’80’s roots and become a fundamental offering in today’s communications? Who created the GIF? What is GIF short for? Read on to find out.įirst, let’s discuss the GIF pronunciation. In fact, not many people know the history of the GIF, but it’s is a whopping 30 years old, with the first one predating the internet itself. Short for “Graphics Interchange Format,” the GIF has exploded in recent years and is now an integral part of digital day-to-day communications. Absolutely nothing depends on it.Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 10 years, chances are you’re familiar with the GIF. But Guh-if is worse than pronouncing a bagel like "bag-ull," so educate yourself with this GIF jar ASAP. Like, apparently Adidas is pronounced AH-dee-dahs, not Ah-DEE-dus, because the brand is derived from the name of German founder Adolf Dassler. Employees involved in the development would play with the spread's catchphrase and say “Choosy developers choose GIF(jif).” Wilhite said the pronunciation choice was actually based on the PB brand. Just listen to Steve Wilhite, the Creator of the GIF, speak the truth. Why eat your PB&J in peace when you can start pointless fights with your loved ones? A regular Jif on Amazon costs around $4, but will make for an incredibly lame dining experience. You can get these jars on Amazon now, for $9.99. Smucker Company has teamed up with Giphy to release limited-edition jars of Jif peanut butter labeled Gif instead of Jif. And in case you needed a reminder, The J.M. News flash: it's pronounced like Jif peanut butter. Who the heck is saying potah-to? Probably the same people pronouncing "GIF" with a hard G. You say potato, I say potato in the same way.
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