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Tumblr the Day After

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Re: Tumblr the Day After

#51

Post by compiler-guy »

munchbunny wrote: post #17
pixelmonkey wrote: post #3

"Automattic is still a startup — I’m sure there are deep-pocketed private equity firms that could have outbid us, but the most likely outcome then would have been an “asset” getting chopped up and sold for parts. [...] Instead, Tumblr has a new chance to redefine itself in 2019 and beyond." I think Matt is right to point out the real story here. Automattic is simply the right home for Tumblr. Perhaps similarly to how…

100% agree that of the list of realistic outcomes, Tumblr going to Automattic is one of the best possible outcomes. That said, and I know this is said a lot, but I really wish our industry would stop trying to label everything a "startup". Automattic was founded in 2005 and has 1000 employees. It's not a startup, it's a mature medium size tech company. Its problems are not startup problems, they're mature medium size…

A better term for a successful company long past the startup stage but not having exited via liquidity event is "privately held".

In a privately held company, the investors can manage it as they see fit. They can take profits if they like, or sell their stakes, just not on public markets.

Re: Tumblr the Day After

#52

Post by simonebrunozzi »

> First, they chose to find a new home for Tumblr instead of shutting it down. Second, they considered not just how much cash they would get on day one, but also — and especially — what would happen to the team afterward, and how the product and the team would be invested in going forward. Third, they thought about the sort of steward of the community the new owner would be. They didn’t have to do any of that, and I commend them for making all three points a priority.

As nice as it sounds, the realist in me finds a hard time to believe that this is exactly what has happened on Verizon's side.

I have never seen a publicly traded company do these things. Heck, you can be sued by shareholders if you actually do these things.

My interpretation (feel free to correct me, I am just a normal guy on the internet) is that Tumblr was difficult to value, hence PE firms didn't have a clear idea of how much to offer, and Automattic came in with a quick decent offer, and the final price (which I think was not disclosed) was so small for Verizon that they decided to go the easy route, perhaps leaving a few $$ on the table.

Re: Tumblr the Day After

#54

Post by chiefalchemist »

chiefalchemist wrote: post #29
elliekelly wrote: post #10

My only real interaction with WordPress was when I purchased, and then promptly cancelled, a premium subscription. But the process was so unexpectedly easy and the employee was so unexpectedly nice and helpful. She really bent over backwards to help me even though I was leaving. It might be silly, but that one interaction coupled with Matt's consistently well spoken/written/thought out public comments lead me to beli…

Words? Yes. Actions? That's another story. He's spoken about the open web and such things and then willfully jumps into bed with Google and Facebook, etc. His "Learn JavaScript deeply" might as well been "Hold onto your ass kids, the rich are about to get richer." That is, WP is no longer a tool of the common people but it's going to be elitist (because that makes my investors happy). Don't get me wrong. No one is pe…

Down-voted for what? Honesty? Truth? Or wasting time stating the obvious? God bless you HN.

Re: Tumblr the Day After

#55

Post by tdb7893 »

chiefalchemist wrote: post #54
chiefalchemist wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Words? Yes. Actions? That's another story. He's spoken about the open web and such things and then willfully jumps into bed with Google and Facebook, etc. His "Learn JavaScript deeply" might as well been "Hold onto your ass kids, the rich are about to get richer." That is, WP is no longer a tool of the common people but it's going to be elitist (because that makes my investors happy). Don't get me wrong. No one is pe…

Down-voted for what? Honesty? Truth? Or wasting time stating the obvious? God bless you HN.

I downvoted because it sounded like an unproductive rant.

Re: Tumblr the Day After

#56

Post by Spivak »

joshspankit wrote: post #48
chiefalchemist wrote: post #28

"Instead, Tumblr has a new chance to redefine itself in 2019 and beyond" I feel like the same thing was said about Napster at some point as well. It's going to take __a lot__ of resources for Tumblr to overcome its status as yet another formerly-hot-but-now-a-has-been (e.g., Yahoo, AOL, MySpace, etc.) Trumblr had its moment. It had its time. It had its audience. They are all in the past. The odds of it making any sor…

There is still no platform which gives space to those who called (the old) Tumblr home.

As a current/former Tumblr user this is all too real. Like The Tumblr userbase has been scattered across IG, Twitter, Mastodon, Patreon, Reddit but the sentiment is still that we're still homeless right now.

Nowhere on the internet had/has a community like Tumblr: aggressively queer, feminist, full of stupid memes, amazing independent art, obsessive nerdy fans, and this general mood of sillyness and innocence and joy and positivity.

And the porn really was weirdly a reflection of that and part of more people's Tumblr experiences than people are seemingly willing to admit: it catered to niche interests, slanted heavily to by-and-for women, super LGBT friendly, funny and over the top, generally tasteful and artsy, and respectful.

Re: Tumblr the Day After

#57

Post by reilly3000 »

gibrown wrote: post #53
reilly3000 wrote: post #38

Does this put Automattic into the ad business? Or were they already there?

We (Automattic) already run our own ads business: https://wordads.co/

Cool good to know. Likes like a nice bidder stack. Will that be what runs on Tumblr? That is pretty good inventory IMHO if ad units are available.

Re: Tumblr the Day After

#58

Post by munchbunny »

samnwa wrote: post #45
munchbunny wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

100% agree that of the list of realistic outcomes, Tumblr going to Automattic is one of the best possible outcomes. That said, and I know this is said a lot, but I really wish our industry would stop trying to label everything a "startup". Automattic was founded in 2005 and has 1000 employees. It's not a startup, it's a mature medium size tech company. Its problems are not startup problems, they're mature medium size…

This is really just shorthand for saying "our employees don't hate working at our company as much as the typical large company because we try to limit bureaucracy and politicking and we value / recognize good ideas and actual execution"

Yeah... I'd agree more if that were actually true. In my experience it actually says "we like to think that we limit bureaucracy and politicking." Whether they actually do, you won't be able to tell.

This aspect of language is all signalling but very little actual signal. It's unfortunate.

Re: Tumblr the Day After

#59

Post by baumandm »

rchaud wrote: post #30

It's been a few years since I had logged into my account. Does Tumblr offer a chronologically ordered feed? I'd consider giving it another go if it works in a way that eschews what's annoying about FB and IG.

It has a "Best Stuff First" option but you can disable it (and it stays disabled)

Re: Tumblr the Day After

#60

Post by tangue »

notatoad wrote: post #47
tangue wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Twitter is the key. Twitter has failed to deliver a sane way to read threads. after all these years I still don't know how to read a conversation. And the whole platform is about conversation ! If Tumblr can get it it right with WP, I won't miss Twitter.

i'm not a huge fan of the way twitter presents threads and conversations, but the few times i've tried to follow a conversation on tumblr i've only found it to be even worse than twitter. i'm not sure tumblr is the saviour we're looking for here.

You're right, but that these millions dollars startups aren't able to do better than phpBB from an UX point of view is dazzling.
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