Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, announced its purchase of beloved internet microblog Tumblr this morning accompanied with an interesting comment that they “won’t screw it up,” and a gif.
They’re trying!
The way the public feels about the acquisition is still to be determined at this point – although leaning towards the negative a petition was made , and many many users have resorted to the tumblr fashion of expressing their feelings in gifs…
Accompanied with the caption “F*CK YAHOO.” on one Tumblr post today.
The main concern is advertising and if it will take over the now fairly advert free space. Additionally the regular fears of having a corporate company take over anything that feels “underground;” censorship, diluted content, restricted access, etc.
Interestingly enough though the press release from Yahoo doesn’t really name any specifics in regard to change. David Karp, Tumblr CEO, will remain at his post, and apparently on the same track as he had intended for the Tumblr mission. Mayer claims that the acquisition will allow users to access Yahoo’s “media network and search experiences.” Yahoo hopes this will help their now older age group audience freshen up, by bringing in the young crowd that uses tumblr, and gives them a social media component to their online reach.
Karp himself posted this gif on his personal tumblr in response, and also was quoted saying how “awesome” it was. Forbes thinks it’s a great idea too. Karp has deliberated over how to make Tumblr more profitable for some time, and even more so on how to incorporate advertising into the equation.
What do you think? Are you going to sign the petition? Or are you going to Keep Calm and Carry on Yodeling? I think I’ll wait it out a bit before forming some kind of anit-Yahoo alliance. Facebook doesn’t seem to have ruined Instagram yet, maybe Yahoo can learn something.
Just for fun here is the most popular Tumblr’s out there.
About Christina Pfeffer
Christina attended the University of Cincinnati where she majored in Communications (with a focus in Mass Media and Rhetoric) and minored in Fine Arts and Art History. She worked at the Cincinnati Art Museum in Institutional Advancement where she managed volunteers and fundraisers, until jumping ship to advertising.
