Facebook is one of the goliaths of the internet and today it's buying another giant: GIFs. Well, not all GIFs, but one of the largest GIF-making and sharing websites on the web, GIPHY.com. The reported price of the deal is $400 million and Facebook says they plan to integrate the service with Instagram and other apps.
If you use GIFs on the internet there's a very good chance you've used GIPHY, even if not intentionally. Facebook says 50% of all GIPHY's traffic was already coming from its apps, half of which from Instagram alone. GIPHY will be a part of the Instagram team and the hope is to make it easier to send GIFs and stickers with Stories and direct messages.
The GIPHY API, which Facebook itself has been using in its products for years, will continue to exist for developers and partners. Many popular services rely on GIPHY's API, including Twitter and Reddit. The company says GIPHY will retain its branding and continue to operate its library and creative tools for the community - at least for the time being.
All of that sounds well and good for now, but Facebook is obviously buying GIPHY for a reason. It's hard to see the service continue forever without any negative side effects for Facebook's direct competitors who also rely on GIPHY for GIFs. What do you think about this news?