I have 100,000 followers on here (i know; tumblr power user jmg) and i think it gives me, like, zero social capital? Which I think might be why it's still good.
Like, when my agents are pitching me for something, they'll be like, "Look at his facebook! Look at his tiktok!" They're never gonna say, "100,000 people follow him on tumblr. Remember tumblr?"
But the thing is, I don't actually use facebook or tiktok (except for promo). This is the only place I use, the only place where I'm interested in the community and shared creation and all that shit.
So long live tumblr. Nobody who's gonna hire me to do anything has ever heard of it. It makes for a terrible space to promote your forthcoming book tour. And that's literally why it doesn't suck.
I made all the proper calculations... The dual camera, the separated flash, the fingerprint scanner!! Even the holo type backglass! My deduction was perfect-
Wh-what?!?!
The... the color..!! Whats going on here? You mean its not a trick of the light, but a gradient design?! Such an obvious tell, and I missed it?! No, that... thats impossible!!!
This can't be!!! I'll be ruined!! MY REPUTATION AS A GIMMICK BLOG!!! NO!!!! NOOOOOOO!!!!!!
Everyone is right to dunk on Yahoo and "tumblr is the new PDF" because yeah, everything about that era was stupid.
But the PDF thing kinda makes sense. Bear with me.
But first, some context.
See, in the 1990s before PDF files there was almost no way to generate a document on a Mac and read it on a PC. Or vice versa. Businesses struggled with how to email important documents around and guarantee they looked the same on the other end, regardless of what computer & software the recipient had.
Adobe changed all that with PDF.
Since Acrobat Reader was available (and free!) for Windows & Mac, suddenly the problem went away. Everyone knew how to read a PDF. Adobe became a universally recognized brand overnight even if you'd never heard of Photoshop, because everyone had goddamn Adobe Reader installed.
Because of that, every tech company yearned to be just like Adobe: invent something universally desired, used by billions of people.
Fast forward to a Yahoo/tumblr meeting sometime in 2013/2014.
Tumblr development staff demonstrates how the back end of tumblr works, which (honestly) is revolutionary as compared with how any other social media site worked at the time. Each tumblr post is composed of blocks of data, any one of which can be text, sound, an image, a movie... anything. These blocks of data are threaded together into what looks to the user like one cohesive message (a single tumblr post) but under the hood it's magic.
Further, the mechanism for doing this can be standardized. In other words: tumblr could, if they wanted, publish the standard as a way for ANY social media site to manage its data.
If other sites did that, then they could trade messages with tumblr! Imagine posting a message on tumblr and reading it on Instagram. Or see twitter messages natively on your tumblr feed. I mean personally, that's a horror show. But the concept is interesting.
(In fact, that's how Mastodon and the Fediverse work in 2025. Each Mastodon post is a standard chunk of data that any website can read & display, assuming it understands the underlying ActivityPub protocol and plays by its rules.)
So the Yahoo executives attend this technology demonstration and one of them quite visibly has a light bulb wink into existence over their head. The light bulb is an old school incandescent, 300 watts at least, and glows furiously bright.
The Yahoo exec stands up. His chair knocks backwards.
"OH MY GOD," he stammers. "This tumblr thing could revolutionize social media. It'd be like the new PDF!"
Then blood shoots out of his nostrils and his head explodes, but all anyone ever remembers from that meeting is "PDF".
@sreegs or @cyle or @jv can probably explain it better, but that's what I remember hearing at the time. Please feel free to correct me.
the details here aren't correct, but as i've said many times, yeah, the PDF thing was in direct response to the Neue Post Format, which is how post and reply content is stored on tumblr. it's not as dumb as it sounds. (without that context, it does sound dumb.)
btw you will miss this in 5 or 10 years. memory will smooth these circumstances down like a river stone, and you will find yourself longing for a shade of light or a moment of this particular innocence. you don't know about what happens next, and one day that will be the most alluring thing of all. don't leave it all for nostalgia. have a nice night now, whatever night it happens to be.
Considering a big purchase? Competitive bargain hunter? Just trying to save money? Here's everything you need to know about buying stuff.
MASTERPOST: Everything You Need To Know About Buying Stuff for Cheap
How to pay for stuff
Buy Now Pay Later Apps: That Old Predatory Lending by a Crappy New NameÂ
Businesses Will Happily Give You HUGE Discounts if You Ask This Magic QuestionÂ
Dafuq Is a Down Payment? And Why Do You Need One to Buy Stuff?Â
Ask the Bitches: Should I Get a Loan Even Though I Can Afford To Pay Cash?Â
Season 2, Episode 10: âWhich Is Smarter: Getting a Loan? or Saving up to Pay Cash?â
How to pay less for stuff
Why Name Brand Products Are Beneath You: The Honor and Glory of Buying Generic
How To Save Money With Affordable Car RepairsÂ
How to Save Money on Your Beloved PetsÂ
How to Get DIRT CHEAP Pet Medication, Without a Prescription
The Pink Tax, or: How I Learned To Love Smelling Like Bearglove
Blood Money: Menstrual Products for Surviving Your Period While Poor
Understand the Hidden Costs of Travel and Avoid Them Like the PlagueÂ
7 Totally Reasonable Ways To Save Money on Cheap EntertainmentÂ
How to buy stuff ethically
Ethical Consumption: How to Pollute the Planet and Exploit Labor Slightly LessÂ
Ask the Bitches: âHow Do I Consume Ethically AND Frugally Under the Trump Tariffs?â
21 Ideas for Sustainable Swaps That Arenât Shitty, Expensive, Greenwashed Garbage
Fast Fashion: Why Itâs Fucking up the World and How To Avoid ItÂ
You Are Above Bottled Water, You Elegant Land MermaidÂ
Kara Perezâs Debut Book âGreen Moneyâ: How To Use Your Money To Save the Planet
Wallet Activism: Using Your Money for Good with Author Tanja HesterÂ
How Can I Justify This Deeply Unethical Purchase?Â
How to buy stuff secondhand
Almost Everything Can Be Purchased SecondhandÂ
Our 5 Best Secrets for Secondhand Shopping Like a Frugal WarriorÂ
The Library Is a Magical Place and You Should Fucking Go ThereÂ
Your Library Lets You Stream Audiobooks and eBooks FOR FREEEEEEE!Â
How to buy big ticket items
Bullshit Reasons Not to Buy a House: RefutedÂ
Season 2, Episode 2: âIâm Not Ready to Buy a HouseâBut How Do I *Get Ready* to Get Ready?âÂ
How to Pay Hospital Bills When Youâre Flat BrokeÂ
Our (Ridiculously Simple) Method for Choosing the Right Healthcare Plan For YouÂ
Buying a Car with the Bitches, Part 1: How to Choose Your CarÂ
Buying a Car with the Bitches, Part 2: How to Pay for Your Car
The Only Advice Youâll Ever Need for a Cheap-Ass WeddingÂ
You Deserve Cheap, Fake Jewelry⊠Just Like Coco ChanelÂ
How To Pay for College Without Selling Your Soul to the DevilÂ
Splurging on Kids: When It Works, and When It DoesnâtÂ
How to buy gifts
The Anti-Consumerist Gift Guide: I Have No Gift to Bring, Pa Rum Pa Pum PumÂ
How Can I Tame My Familyâs Crazy Gift-giving Expectations?Â
In Defense of Shameless RegiftingÂ
Traditional Wedding Gifts Can Burn in Hell Where They Belong
Other Peopleâs Weddings Donât Have to Make You Broke
How to buy food
To Hell and Back for Cheap Groceries: The Epic Investigation (and Shocking Results) of My Grocery Store Price Comparison QuestÂ
How to Shop for Groceries like a BossÂ
Cosmic Truths of Cheap Grocery Shopping: 12 Universal Rules to Save Money on Food, No Matter What You Buy or Where You Shop
The Ultimate Showdown: Cheese Crackers, RankedÂ
If You Canât Afford to Tip 20%, You Canât Afford To Dine OutÂ
We Ranked Chocolate Sandwich Cookies by Taste and Price So You Donât Have ToÂ
Confessions of a Thanksgiving Lunatic: Why I Spend $500 Hosting Every YearÂ
How to avoid buying stuff
How to Avoid Lifestyle Inflation ⊠and When to Embrace It
The Magically Frugal Power of Patience Â
Donât Spend Money on Shit You Donât Like, FoolÂ
Status Symbols Are Pointless and DumbÂ
Hereâs What to Do With Those Credit Card Pre-approval Offers You Get in the Mail
Your Yearly Free Medical Care Checklist
How to COMPLETELY Insulate Yourself From AdvertisementsÂ
6 Proven Tactics for Avoiding Emotional Impulse SpendingÂ
The Subscription Box Craze and the Mindlessness of Wasteful Spending
Everything I Know About Minimalism I Learned from the Zombie ApocalypseÂ
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@vera-king-hrfl holy fuck dude - mega ideas for HotN costume ball perhaps...the amount of funds that went into these could pay off quite a few of my bills I believe...but they are fucking gorgeous
