And so they’re making straightforward attempts to educate incomers in the necessary steps to keep Tumblr, well, Tumblr. There’s no clout to be gained from Tumblr fame, and brands and celebrities have never been able to get much of a foothold on the site.Īnd this is exactly how its users want it to stay. Posts are shown in reverse chronological order, while follower counts are hidden. But they do understand that Tumblr’s design is less focused on wringing engagement from its users at all costs, making it more conducive to casual use, building small communities, and generally having a chill time online. Tumblr users may not even think that Tumblr is good - I will refer you again to deluxetrashqueen’s post. Tumblr users do not think that Tumblr is perfect. Tumblr’s design is less focused on wringing engagement from its users at all costs, making it more conducive to casual use, building small communities, and generally having a chill time online Elsewhere, YouTube video essays and TikToks about fandom history - most of which happened on Tumblr, at least in the 2010s - rehabilitate cringe into something joyful and educational. This nostalgia touches other corners of the site, like in heritage post blogs, both generally and for specific fandoms, which serve as autobiographical museums. There’s a reason the “welcome Twitter users” posts are mostly old fandom gifs. Users both appreciate, and poke fun at, this sense of nostalgia. The feeling (accurate or not) that most people still on the site have been there for a long time contributes to a sense of nostalgia that informs the overall mood of its content. Tumblr’s user base is self-aware, to the point that it’s become a core part of the site’s ethos. It’s also a prayer that a larger user base won’t translate into additional value for commerce hopefully advertisers (and celebrities) will think the whole site is awash with Homestuck gifs and will avoid curating a presence there. It’s a test: If new users aren’t willing to embrace a little cringe, they’re probably not going to thrive on the site. They’re Tumblr users’ grassroots attempt at enforcing unwritten rules within their community. So, while the cringeposts themselves are jokes - part of a trend among users of riffing off any major current events so that it feels like the whole site is doing standup at the watercooler - they also serve a more serious purpose. If new users aren’t willing to embrace a little cringe, they’re probably not going to thrive on the site Eternal September may well be coming for Tumblr. According to Matt Mullenweg, CEO of Tumblr parent company Automattic, downloads of Tumblr’s app are up by 57% and 58% in the Android and iOS stores respectively. This concern that an influx of new users might impact Tumblr’s culture is a reasonable one. The tags of deluxetrashqueen’s post mention “shooting a gun to keep rent prices down” - a comparison to the idea that the “worse” the posts on Tumblr are, the less likely it is to be corporatized or attract a larger, mainstream audience. Take, for instance, the satirical “welcome” notice aimed at incoming Twitter users, stuffed with fandom-specific gifs and in jokes that were popular on the platform 10 or more years ago. Ex-Tumblr users especially are recommending it, after hearing the site is going through something of a renaissance.Ĭurrent Tumblr users’ response has been, in part, to amp up the cringeposting in an attempt to preserve the site’s culture. Still, one of the options that’s being thrown around is Tumblr. If the social media site folds, or just takes a turn that drives (even more) users away, there’s no clear replacement. In the wake of Elon Musk buying Twitter and laying off more than half of its 7,500 employees, there’s been a lot of talk about where users might go next.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |