The most shared GIFs of 2017 were of a man blinking and a baby crying, according to recent research from Tenor.
The report was based on 2017 data from Tenor’s GIF-sharing platform, which handles more than 9 billion searches per month.
The researchers excluded GIFs that are perennially popular (e.g., “happy birthday”).
A “yay” GIF featuring actor Jonah Hill was the third most shared of 2017.
A GIF of athlete/broadcaster Shaq laughing was fourth, and an “oh yeah” GIF of former US president Obama was fifth.
Check out the full report to see the animated version of each GIF.
The researchers found that searches for GIFs that conveyed a nervous emotion increased around the US presidential inauguration.
Also, WTF searches spiked during the Super Bowl, and “scared” searches jumped around Hurricane Irma.
About the research: The report was based on 2017 data from Tenor’s GIF-sharing platform, which handles more than 9 billion searches per month.
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Ayaz Nanji is an independent digital strategist and a co-founder of ICW Content, a marketing agency specializing in content creation for brands and businesses. He is also a research writer for MarketingProfs. He has worked for Google/YouTube, the Travel Channel, AOL, and the New York Times.
LinkedIn: Ayaz Nanji
Twitter: @ayaznanji