Riffsy vs popkey5/1/2023 ![]() Galaxy A53 camera test doesn’t go as you’d expect Widget stacks is the best iOS feature that Android desperately needsĪndroid 12L and Wear OS 3 show Google still isn’t serious about tablets and smartwatches ![]() GIF Keyboard is a free download on the App Store. But maybe, just maybe, it’ll get us one step closer to a real connection … or at least help us share a few hilarious cat clips. Ultimately, the GIF Keyboard likely isn’t the answer to enduring question of how we express ourselves to a person (or people) on the other end of an impersonal machine. Late last year, it raised 10 million in funding from venture capital firms Redpoint Ventures, Menlo Ventures, and others. The company recently announced exclusivity arrangements with LinkedIn and the messaging service Kik. The studios supply GIFs that fill a designated, highlighted section of Riffsy’s library. ![]() In autumn of last year, it signed an agreement with NBCUniversal and 21st Century Fox to promote movies such as Pitch Perfect 2, Taken 3, and Kung Fu Panda. The GIF Keyboard now touts something else that’s totally unique: caption support. In recognition that a GIF alone is sometimes not enough to express the depth of human emotion, the latest GIF Keyboard version 2.5 lets you caption animated clips with text.Īlthough there are at least half a dozen identical keyboards on the iOS App Store and Google Play Store, Riffsy’s managed to maintain relevance by nabbing marketing tie-ins, third-party app partnerships, and million-dollar funding rounds. Riffsy supplies animated clips from “millions” of television shows, movies, and Internet videos, or alternatively, you can import your own from your phone’s default Web browser. The GIF Keyboard is pretty self-explanatory: It’s a virtual keypad replacement that lets you express yourself with animated images instead of Latin characters. And now that you can write your own captions on GIFs, the keyboard just got a lot more personal. But there’s no denying that even the very worst GIFs are more expressive than static pictures or emoji, and that’s the appeal of Riffsy’s GIF Keyboard for iOS. GIFs, as any avid user of the “Interwebz” will tell you, run the gamut of human achievement and foibles. They’re the social media equivalent of a modern art museum: a few are the pinnacle of profundity, some are at the very least entertaining, and most are of dubious relevance. Riffsy's GIF Keyboard, however, has managed to hold on to continue outranking PopKey in the App Store, according to App Annie. Since then, rivals, including the well-received PopKey, have started gaining traction. When Riffsy launched last fall, it was the first iOS keyboard to let users search for and quickly add GIFs to SMS, iMessage, Facebook Messenger, Twitter, and other communication platforms. 'The GIFs a user shares on a daily basis change daily depending on new memes, pop culture, and her own personal interests.' The company claims that Riffsy has passed four billion monthly GIF views and that over half of people who have downloaded its GIF keyboard use it at least five days or more per week. Whereas emoji are fixed, and stickers updated on fixed intervals, Riffsy is visual language that taps into the global consciousness,' says McIntosh. 'In Asian markets where Riffsy has seen uptake, GIFs are being used alongside emoji and stickers. Like GIFs, stickers give users a quick way to share a sentiment without having to type it out on their tiny smartphone keyboards and are usually created through branding deals with major entertainment companies like Disney and Sanrio. In Asia, however, Riffsy has to compete with messaging services like Line, WeChat, and KakaoTalk, which have attracted users thanks in part to the popularity of stickers. David McIntosh, the startup's co-founder and chief executive officer, tells TechCrunch that Riffsy's custom iOS keyboard has already localized to more than 20 countries and is beginning to see traction in European countries where iPhones are popular. Riffsy will use its new capital to build an Android version of its GIF keyboard and expand into international markets. Along with seed funding it landed in November, Riffsy's Series A brings its total raised so far to $13.5 million. The round was led by Menlo Ventures with participation from returning investor Redpoint Ventures, as well as Cowboy Ventures and Signia Venture Partners. According to Techcrunch, GIF keyboard maker Riffsy has raised a $10 million Series A to make sure you never have to communicate using only boring sentences and emojis again.
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