I’m Adam Leibson, Chief Operating Officer of Giphy, and This Is How I Work
A GIF can say a lot. This could be an exaggerated reaction, a visual analogy to what was said in a conversation, or just inconsistency in the context of online communication. But usually it’s just a funny animation.
Giphy made life easier for everyone on the internet in 2013 by launching a GIF-only search engine. Need a GIF of a cat driving a car ? Or a dog on a skateboard ? Giphy has taken care of you.
As Chief Operating Officer of Giphy, Adam Leibson pushed for the company beyond a simple search engine. He is passionate about the future of communication and he and his team are making animated GIFs available wherever you need them, from Slack to Gmail to Facebook Messenger . I’m not sure if the abundance of GIFs helps my productivity, but I definitely use Giphy every day because it’s fun . We reached out to Adam to learn a little about why GIFs stay relevant and how it works.
Location: Home = Brooklyn, Giphy = SoHo Current Place of Work: Chief Operating Officer, Giphy One word that best describes how you work: Strategy.
Giphy is a rather unique place: we create new methods of communication, redefine content consumption and distribution, invent and promote technology … all while working with some of the largest media and technology partners in the world. At the same time, we have a supernatural ability to look into the future and then turn it into reality. So, it’s really important to be able to track what we are doing in the context of what we want to achieve today and tomorrow. As a result, what we do and why we do it is always purposeful and deliberate. It’s also pretty darn fun.
Current mobile device: iPhone 6 but wants a 6s with 3D Touch functionality. Current computer: 13-inch MacBook with maximum load. Ultimately I’m a MacBook Air (home computer) stickler, but I needed more CPU + Memory + Retina.
What apps, software or tools can’t you live without?
I am on the phone a lot in my day to day. It may sound funny, but I really love the comfort of being able to wedge my phone between my shoulder and ear. But doing this with the iPhone is not so easy. This used to be more common behavior when landlines were more common. So, I have a great attachment for my iPhone that mimics a classic landline phone. He keeps my phone in his pocket (away from my brain) and lets me do it all day. He is also blinded by a pink diamond; only facts.
See also: Dark Sky . Best 5 dollars I’ve ever spent.
How is your workplace arranged?
Giphy has a great office with some of the most creative and intelligent people on the planet. We are building the future of GIF technology and search; so I have a lot of energy and activity to keep me going and exercise. Our office is open and everyone has the same basic furnishings with clean aesthetics. We all have the same white desks, black Aeron chairs, and some version of Apple’s workstation.
My office workspace is relatively minimal so I can concentrate. I have a laptop and monitor, standard peripherals and a few knickknacks from travel, partners, etc.
I travel a lot for work, so when I get back to my workstation I will need a GSD. To this end, I have certain applications, system settings and window layouts pretty tightly configured on my laptop so that I can work as productively as possible.
What’s your best time-saving shortcut or life hack?
We only ship products that we like and want to use. Case in point: It was once extremely annoying to share GIFs in a conversation, be it by email or text, on Facebook and Twitter, or on Slack, where we do most of our internal communication. So, in a way, my best time-saver is to simply use the products we’ve spent the last few years creating. For example, I use Giphy for Gmail all the time , and you’ll have a hard time finding the three consecutive Slack messages I send that don’t use the ” / giphy ” command .
I also set up a bunch of custom keyboard shortcuts on my iPhone and double-tapped the screen to unlock the Mac with Knock . These are little things.
What’s your favorite to-do list manager?
While we are in technology and pushing many boundaries, I still believe that the best way to handle current affairs and everyday needs is with a laptop. Also, I love to write; there is something grounding and thoughtful about it. It’s much more thoughtful and thoughtful than tapping on the keyboard. And it gives you a lot of freedom and efficiency to reflect your thoughts in the forms that best suit them: sketches, wireframes, graphs, diagrams, etc. … not just words.
While I’m still trying to find the absolutely perfect notebook (I’ve tried dozens), I’m getting closer to perfect (for me) with the Moleskine square padded notebook. I manage my life and plan the future from these things. And the pen is just as important as the paper. As simple as it is, I am addicted to my matte black Space Pen because it is so easy to carry in my pocket. And because it was invented for space travel! OUTER SPACE!
More likely:Steve Wilhite [inventor of GIF].
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Your time on this planet is your last non-renewable resource.