Reaction GIFs are short, multi-image animations of people -- often TV or movie celebrities -- acting out specific emotions. The recent uptick in these GIFs' popularity sparked tech startup Spartz Media to launch That's So True on Thursday.
"Reaction GIFs capture emotions better than pictures alone can; it's one thing to see a picture of a person's surprised face and quite another to see that person's eyes bolt open with surprise," 25-year-old Spartz Media founder Emerson Spartz told Mashable. "The GIF brings the story to life in a way that words alone cannot."
That's So True has a custom builder, which lets you input text and choose from a gallery of categorized reaction GIFs. You can also upload new GIFs for you and others to use in your stories.
"The GIFs are used to ratchet up what would otherwise be a flat, text-only story format," Spartz says. "Ultimately, we are giving people a new and visually-stimulating way to tell short stories."
That's So True expands Spartz Media's growing properties -- OMG Facts, GivesMeHope and MuggleNet, among other brands -- that attract 160 million monthly pageviews via websites, mobile sites and apps.
GIFs in general have become a popular vehicle to showcase notable moments of 2012. In January, a GIF of comedian Tina Fey photobombing Amy Poehler during the Golden Globes went viral. And this month, popular Super Bowl GIFs captured the best moments of the game, halftime show and commercials.
What do you think of GIFs? Have you used them? Do you like them? Sound off in the comments below.
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