GIF or JIF… Whichever one you use, you can’t deny that this technology is changing the course of the internet. These small, compressed moving images, which became a necessity due to low internet speeds, were developed by Stephen Wilhite in the early 80s.
Wilhite, who worked for a company called CompuServe at the time, described GIFs (my side was obvious) as her “greatest achievement” until the very end of her life. Now GIFs that we can produce, share or even edit in seconds are one of the most important pillars of the internet.
Wilhite, who changed the internet while trying to solve only a small problem, has died of COVID-19 at the age of 74. Wilhite, known for her interest in model trains, will always be referred to as one of the people who gave the internet its usual shape.
Wilhite was honored with the lifetime achievement award for inventing GIF at the 2013 Webby Awards.