Voting Is Open for the First-Ever ‘GIF of the Year’ Awards
Every generation gets the awards show it deserves. So, congratulations, Generation Z, here’s yours: The GIFYs, or “GIF of the Year” Awards, are the self-described “first ever awards honoring the animated GIF as a medium, social commentary and art form.”
And you know what? That’s probably accurate. Heck, even if it isn’t, I don’t see anyone rushing to contradict the claim anytime in the near future.
There are a dozen categories in all, ranging from the predictable (Cats, Sports), to the urbane (Nature + Science, News + Politics), to the ones they just couldn’t figure out where to put (Can’t Look Away, WTF).
Voting is open now, through Jan. 28. Winners, picked with help from panelists from sites like Buzzfeed, Engadget and Mashable, will be “immortalized on [the GIFYs] website” — which they arguably kind of are already.
There’s also a GIF of the Year category, which doesn’t appear to actually be limited to 2013, as it contains this Oprah/bees GIF that has been floating around the Internet for a while. Though that one — let’s face it — is a pretty strong contender for the greatest animated GIF of all time, for its role in helping to expose the daytime talk-show queen for the mad supervillain she really is.
Other contenders for the top spot include Justin Bieber offering to sacrifice himself to God in exchange for 2Pac and an Internet tycoon hurling a raccoon down a stairwell.
Good luck to all the finalists.
(You can view all of the nominated GIFs, and vote for your favorites, here. Oh, and a quick plug for our friends at Yahoo Sports, whose Lebron James shot chart GIF is nominated for the top spot in Sports.)
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