> “GIPHY delivers real-time GIFs as they happen, helping to power Twitter’s live commentary and conversation,” says Alex Chung, founder and CEO of GIPHY.
Someone built a 30+ person company around animated GIFs. And they say there isn't a bubble...
Someone built a 30+ person company around animated GIFs. And they say there isn't a bubble...
That sounds fair. I haven't done any research on the company, but that seemed vague in their recent funding announcement/valuation.
However, I think it's fair to say that Giphy has created something people want to use. Anecdotally, their Slack integration is very popular in the channels I frequent. Maybe the lack of public monetization plan means bubble to you, but it seems the business at least has some value. I don't know if they'll be able to turn that value into revenue, but it seems plausible to me.
I'm not really arguing against your opinion. I'm just trying to get clarity on exactly why you think Giphy is indicative of a bubble. Searching for funny gifs may seem frivolous, but it's something people value. If Giphy can capitalize on that value without losing users / destroying the brand, it seems like a reasonable foundation for a business.
a. Business centered around an utterly frivolous endeavor
b. Seemingly far more employees than necessary to support (a)
c. Many millions of dollars raised in the pursuit of (a) and (b)
You're absolutely correct that people want to use it. But they sure as hell aren't gonna pay directly for it or put up with ads. This is not a business made to last. I know it, you know it, we all know it. Yet there are people out there willing to toss $55M into this folly.
However, I agree that people wouldn't pay for it or put up with ads. As a casual Giphy user, I certainly wouldn't pay for it, and to your point, I wouldn't invest my own money in Giphy.
Anyway, thanks for spelling out your reasoning. Cheers.
Users always end up having value because of ads. People always pay for that.
Granted, this is not a "search engine" type of use case, but the actual existence of some gifs, and the tags applied, force a degree of compromise.
If they cut that out, they are probably fine.
It's like saying that Pinterest is a photo album. Or that Twitter is just a blog engine with 140 characters. Completely correct. Completely missing the point.
Its one my main sources of entertainment( imgur). There is an explosion of information/media on the internet and we need new formats, presentation to reign that in and make it palatable. I don't think its as stupid as you are making it out to be. There is huge potential in this space.
Plenty of 30+ person magazines or topic you've never heard of (Or there used to be - now they are 5 person websites).