The formerly popular website Yahoo! made the decision to buy Tumblr, a blog website mainly used by young people, for 1.1 million dollars. Tumblr has an endless scroll feature where users can reblog photos and write posts on their own blogs. What those who don’t partake in the Tumbling experience do not realize is that these users are made up of a very emotional, tight knit group of people, all of whom do not seem pleased that Yahoo! has bought the site.
It is reasonable to see a creative group of Internet dwellers upset over such an outdated website purchasing their blog. Users have expressed their displeasure over the purchase through often aggressive and angry posts. The bloggers have come together in feeling this way and even those who do not have a Tumblr URL have agreed. Yahoo! has not been a relevant site in years, and all are wondering why Yahoo! wants custody of Tumblr. Maybe they are trying to revamp their image in order to keep up with the always changing Internet, but this instills fear in Tumblr users. Many are worried Yahoo! will put its tacky purple banners on the site, or change the overall appearance.
Bloggers are also worried that Yahoo! will try to censor the explicit adult content that is quite rampant on the website. Yahoo! should not sensor such images. Explicit material can be found all over the Internet and Tumblr is supposed to be a place where such material can be posted if desired. Blogging is all about personal flair, and it would seem wrong to limit what certain users can display under their personal URLs.
One rumor has been that Yahoo! will overload Tumblr with advertisements. There have been light ads appearing on the site as of recent history, which do not seem to bother users. Tumblr is not the place to have tons of advertisements. Yahoo! could maybe fit some on a side bar, but it would be best that they do not crowd the endless scroll with ads. It will certainly interrupt reblogging, the main joy of using the site.
Marissa Mayer, Yahoo!’s CEO promised on her own Tumblr page “to not screw [Tumblr] up.” Although it is just slightly reassuring that their plan is not to completely change the website, her cavalier language is a bit disheartening. She should take a little more pride in now owning the growing popular site; she should use professional language to describe her plans rather than a colloquial phrase like “not screw it up.” This is a big investment she is dealing with, not just a financial investment for Yahoo!, but also in the hearts of Tumblr users.
It is clear that Yahoo! is trying to be a part of social media before they get left behind and completely forgotten, something they believe Tumblr will give them instant access to. But this group of bloggers is very stubborn and judgmental. They don’t want Yahoo! bringing change to their Internet safe haven, and understandably so.
Tumblr has a great thing going; they have made their site a free place for young people to express themselves. If Yahoo! messes with that consistency, with that family of bloggers, the site’s following will certainly suffer.
