Tumblr used to be one of the most popular and sought-after social networking channel around 2012. In terms of popularity, only Reddit has a higher number of users than Tumblr among teens. Tumblr was created as a channel for users for sharing tips and tricks.
With over 148 billion posts and over 738 million unique visitors across the globe, Tumblr literally had the world at its feet. It was even valued and sold for over one billion dollars at its peak period, but unfortunately, Tumblr’s current value is a paltry sum of three million dollars.
Where Did Tumblr Got It Wrong?
Who would have thought that Tumblr, a creative platform used by millions of users to share ideas, tricks, strategies and interests, would be at this point? The answer is not far-fetched. Tumblr was a place where you could meet people who share similar interests without having a physical contact and these topics range from pornography, creative arts to fan fiction.
Tumblr was anonymous and was not leveraging on its huge number of users to sell ad spaces. Facebook was also experiencing exponential growth in number and selling ad spaces. Tumblr does not require new users to reveal private details before signing up for an account. In 2017, the tide changed when Tumblr was sold to Verizon for over one billion dollars. The management embarked on a suicidal mission by placing a ban on porn on Tumblr to maintain its PG-13 rating and make it safe for teenagers. This was the last straw that broke the camel’s back as the algorithm put in place to check porn content could not differentiate it from nude arts.
This act made other content creators to ditch Tumblr and move to other social networking channels with less stiff measures. Other users felt embarrassed by the company’s decision to moderate their actions and left for other social media platforms that could accommodate them. Within a few weeks, the Tumblr platform had lost about 30% of its traffic as more users have left the platform.
Towards the end of 2018 in November, the Tumblr’s iOS app was removed from the Apple App store. This is because the site noticed child pornography on the Tumblr platform, and this led to the banning of explicit content and pornography content on Tumblr in December. Tumblr should have taken drastic steps to put in measures to control child pornography on its platform instead of banning adult content.
Sale of Tumblr To WordPress CEO
The announcement of a ban on porn content had a tremendous impact on the fortunes of the social networking site. This made it lose loads of users as they left in droves and Tumblr was eventually sold to the WordPress CEO for three million dollars. Verizon sold the social networking site to Automattic, which is the parent company of WordPress.
Unfortunately, the new owners of Tumblr seem to make the same mistake that brought it to its knees by insisting adult content remains banned on the platform.
