I've noticed how Tumblr seems to be dying and I don't understand why. People stoped reblogging and posting and this used to be my absolute favorite website for fun, information and general content... Is it dying because of lack of motivation caused by stealing assholes or because people aren't engaging (if this is the case, why)? This was the best place for fandoms for so long, but nothing ever happens here anymore. And I refuse to go to Twitter, because it is so fucking toxic. Help. Whyyy
Hey anon. I believe there are many factors that have contributed in people not posting as much as they used to on Tumblr. Itâs either one of these factors, a mixture of two or three factors or in some cases for content creators all four factors have taken place.
Firstly, we had the censorship purge last year, where Tumblr started flagging nearly every other post as inappropriate even when half of those posts werenât even nsfw. Many tumblr accounts donât show up in searches anymore, even though they are still active. This is all because they post nsfw content. A lot of content creators that primarily wrote smut decided to leave Tumblr last year and many never came back.
Secondly, a lot of content creators started noticing their work being reposted on other websites. These creators were not given any credit. In fact the reposters claimed the work as their own. This happened to every kind of content creator on here. Fan made videos, fancams, photos, gifs, fanart and fanfics were all getting reposted on websites such as YouTube, Wattpad, DeviantArt, etc. Unfortunately it is happening all over again for gif makers, where their gifs are being reposted on Twitter. Weâve lost a lot and are still losing many content creators due to this issue.
Thirdly, when Tumblr originally turned from a photography and art website into a website for various fandoms, people interacted with posts a lot more. Before I became a KPOP account, I used to be a part of Supernatural, Teen Wolf, Dr. Who, Sherlock and Harry Potter fandoms. I remember that any post that was either a fanfic, gifset or fanart used to gain more reblogs than likes back then. People used to reblog every single post they enjoyed seeing on Tumblr. Content creators were used to having their posts be reblogged by followers, which automatically meant that more people saw their content. In the last 2-3 years, posts hardly get any reblogs. People tend to hit the like button and move on to the next post on their dashboard. The main reason why content creators were drawn to Tumblr in the first place, was the REBLOG button. Every time someone hits the reblog button on a post, that post gets shared to that personâs followers. In other words, new people are seeing this content. When a content creatorâs followers only hit the like button, no one new sees that post.Â
Iâm a fanfic writer myself and I donât even mind if people decide no to give me any feedback on my content. However, the least people can do is hit the reblog button. I have zero motivation to continue writing on Tumblr. The last chapter I posted for my fanfic Queen of Jeju ( back in April 2019) has 29 notes in total. 19 people liked that post and out of those 19 people only 3 decided to reblog it. The rest of the 7 reblogs were done by me. For a long time I kept telling myself that the reason Iâm finding it so hard to post any new content is because I have writerâs block. I finally admitted to myself that the real reason I havenât posted anything new on Tumblr since April is because hardly anyone reblogs my content. When someone likes my post, but decides not to reblog it, it makes me think that okay this person liked reading what I wrote. However, my writing wasnât good enough to be shared with this personâs followers and that is why they never reblog my content. If my content is not good enough to be shared (reblogged), then why should I even post it in the first place.
Lastly, content creators started receiving asks and dms where people began to rudely demand for new content. Content that has always been free on this website. Gif makers started receiving asks where people demanded them to create gifs of their favourite idols at a faster pace, not realising or appreciating the fact that it takes at least 2 hours for someone to create a HD quality gif. Fanfic writers started receiving asks where people demanded updates for chaptered fics and also ârequestsâ for new fics when their account description clearly states that they are not taking requests at that time. If that wasnât bad enough content creators started receiving asks and dms where people began to spew hate towards them because the content creator was either too slow at updating or because they didnât create content about certain KPOP artists, ships or specific genres/themes.
If people want content creators to stay on Tumblr, then they need to treat them with kindness and respect. People also need to show content creators their appreciation, since we post content for free. We specifically take time out of our own busy lives to create content that is absolutely free to consume. In other words, content creators on Tumblr donât get paid for their work, yet people still treat them like shit.
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