6 ms·

This still seems like such a random acquisition for the uk to have blocked. Giphy has plenty of competition and gifs seem to he waining in popularity anyway.

xwowsersx 3y ago
gifs are waning in popularity? Giphy serves up 10B gifs a day and Instagram now allows you to post a gif as a comment. Why do you say they're waning?
- giobox 3y ago
  If giphy was doing so amazing, how does that explain the enormous write down today? Sure you can argue Meta overpaid, and there are some bounds applied by the regulator on how they could sell it, but I don't think that accounts for the entire gap.
  - stonogo 3y ago
    You appear to have confused "popular" and "profitable"
- ec109685 3y ago
  Apparently they are cringe: https://junkee.com/giphy-gen-z/341589 https://junkee.com/giphy-gen-z/341589 It also seems like most of the ones I see are screen caps of older tv shows.
  - hackernewds 3y ago
    > “Marketplace commentary and user sentiment towards GIFs on social media shows that they have fallen out of fashion as a content form, with younger users in particular describing GIFs as ‘for boomers’ and ‘cringe’,” the company wrote in a submission to the CMA. actually reading the article in full, it's clear GIPHY and Meta are mentioning this with a BIASED motive to present their investment as non competitive.
airstrike 3y ago
It certainly padded some aspiring politician's resume, though
- calpaterson 3y ago
  It was blocked by a quango, not by a politician. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competition_and_Markets_Authority https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competition_and_Markets_Author...
  - giobox 3y ago
    CMA isn't a quango - its absolutely a direct government org, established by Act of Parliament. Nothing "Non-Governmental" to see here, its run by the Department for Business and Trade. From wikipedia: Type Non-ministerial government department "A non-ministerial department (NMD) is a government department in its own right, but does not have its own minister. However, it is accountable to Parliament through its sponsoring ministers." > https://www.gov.uk/guidance/public-bodies-reform https://www.gov.uk/guidance/public-bodies-reform UK ministers (politicians) can absolutely influence the CMA, there is no vote on its leaders - they are simply appointed by the Business Secretary, who can pick whomever they find most favorable to their own objectives. The Business Secretary can be replaced at any time without a vote by the Prime Minister too in a reshuffle. The only real check on the CMA would be the UK's judicial review process, if a decision was especially egregious.
    - calpaterson 3y ago
      The CMA is a quango: > In the UK, the term quango covers different "arm's-length" government bodies, including [...] non-ministerial government departments https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quango https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quango > The Competition and Markets Authority [...] is a non-ministerial government department https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competition_and_Markets_Authority https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competition_and_Markets_Author... But this specifics of what is and is not a quango don't matter. The original claim implied that the decision was made by a politician for political reasons and this isn't the case.
yamtaddle 3y ago
> Giphy has plenty of competition and gifs seem to he waining in popularity anyway. Am I in a bubble? I post and receive like 20+ gifs per day with my IRL friends and family. The rate has shown no signs of declining. [EDIT] And what's replacing them?
- onychomys 3y ago
  You're not in a bubble, you're just old. The youths think gifs are corny and uncool.
  - yamtaddle 3y ago
    What are they into, tiktoks/instagrams (I'm still annoyed that I can't know if an instagram link is going to be an image, or a video, these days—it's for photos, damnit!) with captions? That's just gifs with worse UI.
    - astrange 3y ago
      Memes with JPEG artifacts. Sending gifs from TV shows hasn't been popular since 2012 maybe. On Twitter it means you're attracting a horde of middle aged moms.
      - SpaghettiCthulu 3y ago
        TIL that I, a member of the youth, am attracting middle aged moms. In all seriousness, I completely disagree with your stance. My friends and I send gifs to each other almost daily.
        hackernewds 3y ago
        how do you do, fellow kid? ;)
    - hackernewds 3y ago
      Stickers is the new thing now. The world outside of old people in America have moved their discourse to private chats such as WeChat and WhatsApp and Snapchat

xwowsersx 3y ago

gifs are waning in popularity? Giphy serves up 10B gifs a day and Instagram now allows you to post a gif as a comment. Why do you say they're waning?

giobox 3y ago
If giphy was doing so amazing, how does that explain the enormous write down today? Sure you can argue Meta overpaid, and there are some bounds applied by the regulator on how they could sell it, but I don't think that accounts for the entire gap.
- stonogo 3y ago
  You appear to have confused "popular" and "profitable"
ec109685 3y ago
Apparently they are cringe: https://junkee.com/giphy-gen-z/341589 https://junkee.com/giphy-gen-z/341589 It also seems like most of the ones I see are screen caps of older tv shows.
- hackernewds 3y ago
  > “Marketplace commentary and user sentiment towards GIFs on social media shows that they have fallen out of fashion as a content form, with younger users in particular describing GIFs as ‘for boomers’ and ‘cringe’,” the company wrote in a submission to the CMA. actually reading the article in full, it's clear GIPHY and Meta are mentioning this with a BIASED motive to present their investment as non competitive.

airstrike 3y ago

It certainly padded some aspiring politician's resume, though

calpaterson 3y ago
It was blocked by a quango, not by a politician. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competition_and_Markets_Authority https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competition_and_Markets_Author...
- giobox 3y ago
  CMA isn't a quango - its absolutely a direct government org, established by Act of Parliament. Nothing "Non-Governmental" to see here, its run by the Department for Business and Trade. From wikipedia: Type Non-ministerial government department "A non-ministerial department (NMD) is a government department in its own right, but does not have its own minister. However, it is accountable to Parliament through its sponsoring ministers." > https://www.gov.uk/guidance/public-bodies-reform https://www.gov.uk/guidance/public-bodies-reform UK ministers (politicians) can absolutely influence the CMA, there is no vote on its leaders - they are simply appointed by the Business Secretary, who can pick whomever they find most favorable to their own objectives. The Business Secretary can be replaced at any time without a vote by the Prime Minister too in a reshuffle. The only real check on the CMA would be the UK's judicial review process, if a decision was especially egregious.
  - calpaterson 3y ago
    The CMA is a quango: > In the UK, the term quango covers different "arm's-length" government bodies, including [...] non-ministerial government departments https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quango https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quango > The Competition and Markets Authority [...] is a non-ministerial government department https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competition_and_Markets_Authority https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competition_and_Markets_Author... But this specifics of what is and is not a quango don't matter. The original claim implied that the decision was made by a politician for political reasons and this isn't the case.

yamtaddle 3y ago

> Giphy has plenty of competition and gifs seem to he waining in popularity anyway. Am I in a bubble? I post and receive like 20+ gifs per day with my IRL friends and family. The rate has shown no signs of declining. [EDIT] And what's replacing them?

onychomys 3y ago
You're not in a bubble, you're just old. The youths think gifs are corny and uncool.
- yamtaddle 3y ago
  What are they into, tiktoks/instagrams (I'm still annoyed that I can't know if an instagram link is going to be an image, or a video, these days—it's for photos, damnit!) with captions? That's just gifs with worse UI.
  - astrange 3y ago
    Memes with JPEG artifacts. Sending gifs from TV shows hasn't been popular since 2012 maybe. On Twitter it means you're attracting a horde of middle aged moms.
    - SpaghettiCthulu 3y ago
      TIL that I, a member of the youth, am attracting middle aged moms. In all seriousness, I completely disagree with your stance. My friends and I send gifs to each other almost daily.
      - hackernewds 3y ago
        how do you do, fellow kid? ;)
  - hackernewds 3y ago
    Stickers is the new thing now. The world outside of old people in America have moved their discourse to private chats such as WeChat and WhatsApp and Snapchat