In Case You Thought BuzzFeed Needed More GIFs, The Site Launches A GIF Feed Sponsored By Google+

Do you sometimes read BuzzFeed and think, “This is great, but why is all this text getting in the way of the funny GIFs?” If so, there’s a perfect new section for you, called the GIF Feed.

It’s actually not a standard editorial page but ratherof a promotional campaign sponsored by Google+ as a way to show off its Auto Awesome feature, which creates GIFs. (This parenthetical remark was originally where I explained what a GIF is, but if you don’t know, then this post probably isn’t for you.) Most of the GIFs are shared by BuzzFeed, but there’s also a sponsored unit in the upper right corner which points to more Google+-sponsored GIF collections.

A Google spokesperson sang the praises of GIFs via email and told me the company created the Auto Awesome feature because “we love them so much.”

The campaign seems worth pointing out for a couple of reasons. First of all: GIFs! Secondly, it’s a good example of the kinds of custom ad campaigns that have apparently brought the site to profitability.

A BuzzFeed spokesperson said the campaign will run until the end of the year, and that it’s the first such section that the company have created. When I admitted that I wasn’t as totally addicted to the feed as they claimed to be (maybe it’s because you have to click on images to see the full picture and the animation, maybe it’s because my heart is made of stone), the spokesperson added:

BuzzFeed users that love GIFs get to look at a comprehensive library of their favorite GIFs and share with their friends. Just like any other piece of social content on our site, this is another fun way for users to share their favorite moments via social sharing.