Hi Leo. (screencap)

Fire up your Tumblr mobile app this afternoon, and you'll notice something new in the river of posts flowing through your dashboard. Scroll through and for the first time, you'll see advertising mixed in with the #RHOA GIFs and nail art.

Ad Age reports that starting today, the profit-seeking startup is rolling out sponsored posts in the prime real estate of users' streams, though only on mobile apps. Launch partners include G.E., Warner Bros. and ABC, and at most you'll see four per day, identified with a little dollar sign.

Of course, this is Tumblr, so a brand can't simply shell out a quarter mil for a banner and call it a day. These are sponsored posts, just like what you'd see in the Tumblr Radar, so they have to link back to a larger Tumblr presence. But this is a far more visible product than what's been available until now.

Ad Age says:

"'This mobile advertising opportunity is native to how our consumers experience content on our apps; as a continuous stream,' said Tumblr head of sales Lee Brown, in a statement."

Maybe that's why G.E. and Warner Bros both launched their campaigns with--duh--GIFs. Never not GIFs.

So easy!

Good news, Tumblr freaks! Starting today, Google is rolling out a very useful new feature, sure to save oodles of time when you need the perfect Nene Leakes reaction shot, pronto. You'll now be able to filter image search results so you get just the GIFs.

This is a real victory for those of us who prefer to communicate with our loved ones entirely through moving pictures.

Not everyone is so delighted, however. As one commenter noted on the Google+ announcement: "So this is what you're doing with all the resources you freed up when you killed Google Reader?"

It was high time that The New York Times published a trend piece on GIFs. It was not surprising that the GIF the Grey Lady embedded didn't actually loop..  [Gawker]

"Does she ever wonder, though, whether her readers might need that tip-jar money more than she does?" More on the blogonomics of Maria Popova's Brain Pickings. [Counterparties]

For those of you who have always dreamed of syncing your iPod to your favorite sex toy, here are some possibilities for a high-tech Valentine's Day. [Mashable]

After President Barack Obama issued an executive order on cybersecurity following his State of the Union address, Congress has scheduled hearings on a cyber bill. [The Hill]

Mark Zuckerberg's stake in Facebook has climbed to nearly 30 percent, according to recent filings. [Business Insider]

Via Smile, It Looks Good on You

You'd think after Hurricane Sandy, nothing short of the actual apocalypse could rattle New Yorkers. And yet, if Twitter is any indication, it seems there's a fair bit of panicky flailing happening around the city right now. Well, buck up, because we've assembled a complete Internet preparedness kit featuring everything you might possibly need.

Maybe also buy some batteries, though? 

1. Information Sources: First off, you'll want to follow the Wall Street Journal's Eric Holthaus, who will promptly freak you the fuck out with dispatches like, "If higher end snow totals do materialize for NYC, this blizzard could be among the top five since the Civil War." (We saw that movie and it turns out Abraham Lincoln dies, so no thanks.) For sheer ALL CAPS HYSTERIA, it's hard to beat the Weather Channel's website, which comes with bonus livestream of star weatherman Jim Cantore and his furrowed brow from downtown Boston.

2. Playlist: Well, obviously, you're going to want a soundtrack to the snowstorm. Here is a Songza playlist to get you started.

3. Entertainment: Absolutely no Finding Nemo, which would be like wearing the band t-shirt to the concert. Might we recommend House of Cards? The weather is scheduled to last until sometime Saturday, which means you've got plenty of time to watch the entire show. If that doesn't appeal, might as well finally watch Freaks and Geeks, or the one-two punch of New York Times documentaries, Page One and Bill Cunningham New York. (Don't watch The September Issue, as you'll already be feeling frosty enough.)

Of course, you'll probably get sucked into Say Yes to the Dress, regardless. 

If you're not feeling a 13-hour television marathon, there's the entire Longform archive. Might we recommend everything ever written by Texas Monthly? We're not sure what to tell you if the power goes out. Maybe light some candles and try reading an IRL dead-tree book?

4. Food: Obviously skip Trader Joe's unless you enjoy bread riots, and the Fresh Direct train has already pulled out of the station. That means, at some point in the next 24 hours, you're probably going to want to order Seamless. All we'd say is: Don't be an asshole, and tip more than 20 percent--in cash.

5. Ways to Document the Storm: When someone says "historic blizzard," your first thought should be "pictures!!!" There's even a distinct possibility of thundersnow, the most terrifying and awe-inspiring of meteorological phenomena. Well, good news: Vine isn't just for porn. If you haven't already, it's time to download the app so you can spam your followers with out-of-focus video of flurries. If you don't have an iPhone, however, you're stuck with Instagram and Snapchat. Snow-day sexts!

6. Outdoor Activities: Here's a Reddit thread devoted to places you could possibly sled, if you're into that sort of thing.

6. GIFS! GIFS! GIFS! At some point your mom/cousin/best friend from third grade is going to want to know how you're holding up, which means you'll need more than a simple pic you can send. Let us remind you: No Finding Nemo GIFs. Try these instead:

Sad, cold crow via Denise Maneter

Via my head is gone

7. Internet K-Holes: There's no way to plan a K-hole, really, but we suggest starting with this Wikipedia page of conspiracy theories.

8. Coping strategies: If you've ever seen The Shining, you know that being cooped up inside can put a severe strain on one's relationships. There's Yelp if you suddenly find yourself in the market for a marriage counselor. Also, there's always porn.

9. A digital snuggle buddy: Failing all else, there's always the kitten cam.

(screencap from What Should We Call Girls)

A couple weeks back, Betabeat noted that Cinemax had embarked on a GIF-happy marketing campaign for its new show, Banshee, which seemed like a heavy-handed marketing campaign for a heavy-handed show.

Well, if releasing the entire first episode in GIF format seemed a bit overwrought—"the GIF format has emerged as a popular visual language across the internet and provides a creative way into social conversations by leveraging existing online behaviors," a marketing exec at HBO (Cinemax's parent company) told us—at least the GIFs were cool.

If only we could say the same thing for What Should We Call Girls, the network's Tumblr for its hit show Girls, which was a perfectly reasonable idea executed with a preponderance of rules, including:

GIFs should feature images from the HBO series GIRLS only

GIFs should not combine GIRLS content with any other content or material

Any text in your GIF must be a direct quote from GIRLS

All GIRLS content in GIFs must be obtained from authorized sources of HBO programming

GIFs should be approximately 5 seconds long

We reserve the right to select the GIFs that will be posted on this site

All of which made inevitable masterpieces such as this one:

Does that mean HBO is the Adam Driver of networks? "You should never have to be anyone's fucking slave. Except mine.”

Rolling the dice with an edgy new marketing plan.

Cinemax is debuting a new series tomorrow, called "Banshee," which sounds so hackneyed—"It follows the story of an ex-con and master thief who assumes the identity of the sheriff of Banshee, PA, where he continues his criminal activities, even as he’s hunted by the shadowy gangsters he betrayed years earlier"—it must have needed a marketing concept that was just as obvious.

So: GIFs, and not just a snippet here and there. That would be so 2012. Lots of GIFs, chase scene GIFs, roulette scene GIFs, blow job GIFs, "You fucked my wife"-scene GIFs, even. (Well, these of these are kind of wonderful.) But there's more: You can even watch the entire first episode in 12 sequences of GIFs.

Betabeat reached out to Cinemax, hoping to find an exec who could explain why the network went so GIF-happy. We didn't get to talk to anyone, but we did get some emailed quotes from Chris Spadaccini, a senior vice president of brand and product marketing at HBO, Cinemax's parent company. Better yet, we didn't even have to ask a question (the helpful prompts below also came from the company).

Why did you choose to use GIFs as a way to promote your new original series, Banshee?

"The GIF format has emerged as a popular visual language across the internet and provides a creative way into social conversations by leveraging existing online behaviors.  It allowed us to tease the world of 'Banshee' using a retro-cool technology and encourage users to engage with a range of provocative moments from the series.   The GIFs also tie back to the visual style of the series by referencing the cinemagraphs in the opening title sequence."

Is this the first time that a program has used GIF for a full premiere?

"This is the first time a program has used GIF for a full premiere. It is also the first time that we’ve used GIFs in this way to promote an upcoming Cinemax series."

What makes the Banshee series suited for this kind of roll out?

"'Banshee' is an action-packed series filled with colorful, idiosyncratic characters and elements of heightened reality. The GIF premiere allowed us to give viewers a taste of this unique world without taking away from the experience of watching it live."

Heightened-reality GIFs!

:(

Bad news if you've just received a flabbergasting email from a friend and need the perfect reaction GIF in a pinch: Tumblr is currently down, and has been for something like two hours. Navigating to the site returns the above apology that "service is temporarily unavailable," and Down Right Now reports a likely disruption. Users have taken to Twitter to freak out.

We reached out to Tumblr spokesperson Katherine Barna, who told us:

Tumblr is experiencing network problems following an issue with one of our uplink providers. Recovery is moving quickly and we will return to full service shortly.

Until then, everyone's feeeelings will have to be compressed into 140 character form, and all pinup shots are temporarily rerouted to Pinterest. Artsy photos go to Instagram; party pics are best placed on Facebook. For all other contingency plans, please consult the single-serve site When Tumblr Is Down.

Updated at 2:40pm: Tumblr is now back up and running.

Everyone's new favorite medium was used to save the Olympics, as well as reinvigorate the presidential election and now it's going to save TV too! CBS just bought the rights to a show based on the reaction GIF blog and What Should We Call Me clone site, Hollywood Assistants. The GIF has finally arrived.

Hollywood Assistants doesn't really seem as popular as most of its contemporaries. A lot of the site's recent posts have under 10 notes. Compare that to another reaction GIF Tumblr like How Do I Put This Gently, where all of the posts have hundreds upon hundreds of notes.

According to Deadline Hollywood, the blog's creator, Lauren Bachelis, started the site while she was working as an assistant at CAA. She then became an assistant to New Girl creator and executive producer Liz Meriweather, where she continued to post reaction GIFs from TV shows and movies to the moderately popular blog.

Ms. Bachelis took her GIF inspiration and wrote the show which is titled 20-Nothings. It's about five 20-something friends living in Los Angeles trying to make it in Hollywood. Sounds watchable enough, especially because it's going to be directed and executive produced by Wonder Years hero, Fred Savage.

We hope Ms. Bachelis is judicious about posting GIFs of her GIF show on her GIF blog. Wouldn't want anyone to get GIF'cepted.

You're welcome for the Comic Sans. (Photo: American Treasure Tour)

Here's the new Amazon Kindle. It has a "paperwhite" backlit display. [The Verge]

Facebook set to launch email and phone number-based ad targeting this week which is only mildly creepy. [TechCrunch]

Fantasizing about ditching email is porn for tech people, basically. [Planet Krypton]

Reddit tackles the important questions: "If you have one GIF to represent you on your tombstone when you die, what would it be?" [Reddit]

Netflix video streaming accounts for 25 percent of all Internet data transmitted in North America. But it's so worth it for all those Arrested Development marathons. [Yahoo]

The email contains little besides four GIFs, two of which we've provided here:

Accompanying the images is a wryly cheesy little note: "Let us 'gif' guide you to optimum performance in your yoga and fitness practice." What does that even mean?

UPDATED: The Standard reached out to inform us that they, in fact, have an entire Tumblr devoted to instructional yoga GIFs. David Karp must be pleased as punch.

But the Standard isn't the only brand looking to cash in on the GIF-o-mania. Diesel, for example, has converted images from its fall 2012 advertising campaign into cinemagraphs, the better-bred cousin of the sometimes jerky GIF. And given the advanced state of GIF-making technology, the only real question is why it's taken this long for the form to invade advertising.

The real mystery is why email marketers think those asinine subject-line symbols are acceptable. Thanks, LivingSocial, we understand that you're offering deals on flights. The little airplane is overkill.