Like A Gif – Facebook Makes Looping Videos Into Profile Pics

Facebook is making some changes to keep up with the competition, including the ability to make seven-second profile pic videos.

Let’s say you are Facebook. You’re one of the world’s biggest name brands, billions of people visit your site, and are you even have a foothold in growing VR tech markets. Cutting-edge research and marketing teams are at your disposal to maintain your position as the undisputed leader of social media. What new service can you roll out to make your service more appealing? Today we found out the answer: Getting the option to make your profile picture a looping seven-second video.

Facebook is catching up to GIF technology, ladies and gentlemen. God help us all.

Video profile images are just one feature revealed in a Facebook blog post today, and all kidding aside, some of these do sound useful. Temporary profile pictures are one example, which can be used to commemorate a milestone or event before reverting to your standard image. The Celebrate Pride filter most of us saw a few months ago was a great example, but it can also be used for birthdays, vacations, or upcoming sports games.

“Profile pictures are not just static portraits,” the post reads. “They represent what’s going in your life right now and what’s important to you, and we want to give people the tools to better express themselves in this way.”

Meanwhile, the social media giant is taking a few hints from Twitter. Improved Profile Controls will add a customizable space at the top of your page, letting you pin five featured photos alongside biographical details. On top of that, all these changes are supported on mobile apps thanks to recent design changes.

Of course, looping videos will still be the most noticeable feature. Facebook seems to hope it will make profiles more engaging, letting you “show a part of yourself you couldn’t before, and add a new dimension to your profile”. Of course, even if the design looks great, there are financial elements to consider. These changes put a stronger emphasis on up-to-date biographies, which are crucial to advertisers.

Regardless, with roughly four billion visits to the site each day, we’ll find out pretty quickly whether the changes are a success or not. What do you think of Facebook’s GI… sorry, looping video profile pics?

Source: Facebook, via Tech Crunch