Imgur, Photobucket and Animoto aren't comparable to Giphy. They're targeting different things. That would be like comparing Youtube to LinkedIn. Both social web

Imgur, Photobucket and Animoto aren't comparable to Giphy. They're targeting different things. That would be like comparing Youtube to LinkedIn. Both social websites but ultimately have different goals/aims. What makes Giphy special is the content/user moat that it has. Anyone can easily create a Giphy website and search engine. You can most probably buy a Wordpress theme for $20 to do it. You can not easily-replicate what Giphy has achieved in regards to content moat and user numbers. I wouldn't call 2 other businesses in the same industry, healthy competition.