GIFGIF might seem like just another silly online timewaster, but it's actually a serious attempt to build up a library of quantitative data about how we perceive the expressions and facial tics of others.



This latest project from MIT Media lab was cooked up by Kevin Hu and Travis Rich due to their shared interest on the power of non-verbal communication:
"While a GIF might not say anything in words, you immediately know what it's supposed to mean,"

"It's an incredibly diverse medium, that can express everything from the sadness you might feel when your boyfriend breaks up with you, to 'holy crap, is this the greatest burrito I've ever had in my life!'"
Once you visit the site, you will be presented with two GIFs randomly plucked from a library of thousands. You'll then be asked which better expresses certain emotive concepts like guilt, relief, anger, and more.  If neither GIF seems to express the concept, just click "Neither" to move on to the next set.

You can also win achievements for voting on GIFs, and the GIFs that best (or least) express the emotion being voted upon are tracked in real-time rankings on the bottom of the page. Check it out here.