9gag.com

In these fast-paced days of information overload, the content we share with one another seems to get shorter and shorter with each passing day. Whereas once upon a time, we would invite friends over to watch a movie together, today the same sentiment can be expressed with nothing more than a quick 2-second gif. I am acknowledging the fact that our content is getting quicker to view, and this is allowing for a more streamlined form of socializing.

This means that if you are looking to create or contribute video content to a website, it?s important to consider other platforms, like YouTube, which can be more diverse and open-ended in terms of what kind of content they can provide.

However, it seems that the majority of YouTube videos are likely to be longer than a couple of minutes in duration, right? When you watch a YouTube video, in other words, it can sometimes feel like you're making a commitment - at least when compared to watching a quick gif or, say, a Tik Tok video. You're likely going to be watching for at least a few minutes on YouTube.

However, there are newer alternatives to YouTube that are not as focused on lengthy or even complete video content. These sites have taken the social media components of YouTube, though (as well as, it could be argued, the general idea behind a free video-sharing platform), in order to create enormous databases of shorter media content: GIFs, memes, and things like that.

When I think of sites that are social media hotbeds of gifs and memes, the first thing that comes to mind is 9GAG. It's a hybrid site, bringing together aspects of social media and the ability to share user-created content. This just so happens to be a major focus on 9GAG; this is not simply a video/gif sharing site. In fact, the majority of the content that is shared on 9GAG falls under the umbrella of ?meme? or ?gif? culture. 9GAG has quickly picked up steam, and it's one of my favorite sites for finding gifs and memes.

History

9GAG was founded in 2009 and 2010 by a group of five people from Hong Kong: University of Hong Kong student Ray Chan and his brother Chris Chan, along with Derek Chan, Marco Fung, and Brian Yu. Their shared vision was to create an alternative online platform where people could share humorous pics and videos. The name is perhaps the most elusive aspect of 9GAG- no one knows for sure where it came from or how it got its name. In a 2012 interview, CEO Ryan Chan declined to explain its origins. But if I had to guess, I would assume that the company's current attitude is due to the use of the word 'gag' meaning a joke or a shtick. Because that's apparently the company's attitude these days. 9GAG was started with a 'just for fun' mentality, and its founders used it primarily as a resume builder to hedge their bets for the 500 startups accelerator program. This summer, they also worked on 'more serious' projects such as Startup Quote and Song Board.

Upon completing this summer program, the 9GAG team was welcomed into Y Combinator's incubator. This is where 9GAG's userbase skyrocketed to 70 million unique monthly visitors around the globe. It became abundantly clear that this little joke site was where their fortunes were hidden. So, they abandoned all other projects and worked on 9GAG full-time. They were polite enough, too, to give 500 Startups a portion of equity for their aid and mentorship.

In July of 2012, 9GAG raised an impressive amount of money from Silicon Valley investors. The following month, they were able to match that amount from venture capitalists. Today, 9GAG stands as one of the most promising sites to keep an eye out for, and its operations are split between the company's two homes: Hong Kong and Silicon Valley.

Design

If I had to describe the design of 9GAG, I would say that it looks a bit like YouTube, Reddit, and Instagram all mixed together. Honestly, the design of these sites is not bad at all - I have my gripes with YouTube's design, but it is at least familiar; which makes navigating 9GAG, too, a familiar and intuitive experience. That being said, just for the record, I do think that 9GAG's design is better than YouTube's - it is much more user-friendly and has a more intuitive layout. Instagram's influence is seen on 9GAG, which is very similar to Instagram. A feed of picture, short video, and gif content is constantly shared by other users. Below each post, you can comment and "like." To the left, you are able to browse the site by Hot, Trending, Fresh, or by category (Funny, Animals, Anime, Cosplay, Gaming, etc.).

It reminds me of Reddit in the way that users can upvote or downvote any post they see. This, of course, affects the post?s visibility. So, similar to Reddit, 9GAG uses a sort of democratic voting system in order to decide which content deserves the most visibility on the site.

Content

If you are looking for more substantive content, 9GAG is not the site for you. However, if you enjoy memes, gifs, and short funny videos, 9GAG is a great site. There is a bent on 9GAG which skews towards demographics that are likely to enjoy things like anime and manga, cosplay, and gaming. That is important to note. Each site has its own sort of culture and I think that gives a glimpse into 9GAG's "gaming, anime, and humor" as the site's bread and butter.

Mobile and Desktop Experience

I think that the website is, overall, very intuitive and organized. I had no real complaints when accessing the site on my laptop. The only thing that I didn't love was an unmarked, constantly refreshing feed of content to the right of the main feed. I found it distracting and unprofessional-looking, but maybe that's just me. The app, too, provides an excellent user experience. Other users seem to agree - 9GAG has an average rating of 4.5 stars (out of 5) on the Apple App Store. The app layout almost resembles that of a news app - that is probably where I am picking up on that professional vibe from. Either way, in my opinion, the app provides a superior experience.

Pricing and Plans

The 9GAG app is free to sign up for and use. However, you will still have to deal with ads. But, hey, Ads are pretty much to be expected for free services these days, right?

Suggestions that I have for 9GAG

I would like for the in-browser site to have a similar streamlined feel to the app. I love how clean and simple the app is and I wish that the website itself followed this same design. Other than that, 9GAG does a great job at what it does and I think offering a paid subscription service could be beneficial. This way 9GAG could reduce its reliance on ads!

Conclusion

If you enjoy Laugh Out Loud content, 9GAG is a safe bet. It's certain to make you LOL, so why not give it a try? What do you have to lose?