what do you think we should do before tumblr end if that happens that is.. i think i feel like i want to speak out to anyone who i looked up and especially you. (*⁰▿⁰*)
Long post ahead; my apologies, but I am absolutely enflamed about this subject and have had a lot of time to sit around and think about it.
Based on my own research into fandom trends and history, what may possibly happen now that Tumblr has essentially executed its own (extremely poorly implemented) strikethrough, and it’s been exposed that many artist, adult, AND non artist blogs are being arbitrarily hidden, is what happened to livejournal and ff.net. People will jump ship to the next platform.
Fandom and adult content makes up a disproportionately large chunk of what’s uploaded to Tumblr; it’s why “Fandometrics” even exists in the first place. With a whole spectrum of content creators unable to share both their original and fandom ‘wares’, and consumers unable to find them, content creators will potentially move on to platforms that facilitate ease of access to their work, and consumers will follow the creators. It’s almost consumerism in internet form; when a store’s supply doesn’t meet demand, people will find a different store.
To follow up on the previous point, a question I have come across increasingly often in the past few months in the fandoms I participate in and observe is “where is all the good content?” And, take this as a grain of salt, but I believe the biggest fact of the matter is that creators and their content are either unwillingly hidden or are leaving Tumblr for Twitter, Instagram, and hopeful alternatives such as the newest up and comer, @pillowfort-io.
As far as what will happen to the blue hellsite? Well, Tumblr as a digital service will never end so long as yahoo is willing to shovel money into it and it can make a buck, but that’ll only last as long as the site makes money on ad revenue. As a programmer interested in the code behind targeted advertisement, I believe this is the biggest reason why Tumblr has had such a heavy hand about removing nsfw content after their App Store takedown.
Hundreds of thousands of tumblr users utilize the app, meaning hundreds of thousands of users with no form Adblock to prevent them from seeing the ads and sponsored posts. That’s money in the bank for Tumblr, and often the reason why the mobile applications get updates pushed faster than issues on the desktop site get resolved.
If Tumblr does ever fix this issue, the tired cynic in me says it’ll happen when it’s too late; when traffic has drastically fallen off the site, and ad revenue doesn’t make enough to support self hosting servers, and people have moved on. I hope I’m wrong, but I have a degree in this shit and my gut and my education tells me that Tumblr will put another poorly coded bandaid on the issue, and go “look everyone! We’re cool again, right?” Except no Tumblr.com, you were never actually cool, you were just an alternative, sorry.
If we as a user base want to continue using Tumblr as a fandom space, I think now more than ever it is important to reblog the content we see and enjoy rather than just liking it, because we have no way of knowing if it’s a piece we’d see in the tags, or another artist who’s fallen victim to Tumblr’s asinine new policies. Now, the best exposure all artists can get may potentially only come from reblogs. This isn’t said as me, a salty artist trying to push reblogs over likes, but as a hungry fandom consumer who has seen very little new art on their dash over the past two weeks compared to previously.
If I’m wrong about all this I will eat an entire bowl of unseasoned dry mashed potatoes on stream. They offend me personally and literally make me gag. But I don’t think I’m wrong. To those of you who made it to here you’re the real MVP. Ori out.
“If we as a user base want to continue using Tumblr as a fandom space, I think now more than ever it is important to reblog the content we see and enjoy rather than just liking it, because we have no way of knowing if it’s a piece we’d see in the tags, or another artist who’s fallen victim to Tumblr’s asinine new policies.”
