{"product_id":"gifs-matthew-beale-9780262054614","title":"GIFs","description":"\u003cb\u003eAn illuminating deep dive into the GIF and its evolution from a technical workaround to a powerful digital communication tool.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSince its creation in 1987, the Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) has transformed from a practical workaround for slow internet connections into a dynamic mode of digital expression. Once used primarily to display simple animations and low-resolution images, the GIF now occupies a central but often overlooked role in many online discourse communities. Yet despite their cultural ubiquity, GIFs remain neglected in academic research fields. In \u003ci\u003eGIFs\u003c\/i\u003e, Matthew Beale, Jamie Henthorn, and Megan Mize explore the small-but-mighty GIF, inviting readers to reconsider how everyday digital practices reflect and shape broader social and cultural dynamics. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFrom group chats to global newsfeeds, GIFs permeate our digital lives, serving as humorous, subversive, and artful forms of communication. This book provides a comprehensive examination of the GIF as a cultural artifact, tracing its technological origins, aesthetic development, and communicative power. Across chapters focused on education, marketing and meme culture, creativity, identity, and community-building, this investigation explores how GIFs shape contemporary meaning-making, emotional expression, and digital participation, positioning the GIF as an integral piece of internet culture and history.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Matthew Beale,Jamie Henthorn,Megan Mize\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0262054612\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780262054614\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e MIT Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/10\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 256\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback","brand":"Matthew Beale","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48437670805759,"sku":"9780262054614","price":18.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_c21ce19f-c30f-44e9-bff4-6c9a48e097b6.jpg?v=1777163303","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/gifs-matthew-beale-9780262054614","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}