Tumblr is a shadow of what it once was. Back in the 2010s, you'll be able to find Tumblr posts on other social media platforms. Now, younger generations won't even recognize the name. The company has tried to put Tumblr back up among mainstream sites but with no such luck.
Down to the Skeleton Crew
Back in July, Tumblr revealed its plans to make changes to the site to make it easier to use and attract more users. From improving SEO practices to enhancing its "core experience, none of them worked out the way they hoped.
With the microblogging site slowly crumbling, parent company Automattic is leaving it with a few employees to oversee Trust & Safety along with a few support workers. In an internal memo, it said that "the majority of the 139 people" will leave Tumblr, as reported by Engadget.
"We are at the point where after 600+ person-years of effort put into Tumblr since the acquisition in 2019, we have not gotten the expected results from our effort, which was to have its revenue and usage above its previous peaks," the memo states.
On the bright side, the workers leaving the site will not be laid off. They will simply be transferred to other projects under Automattic. With that set in motion, the company's next step is to "reflect and decide where else we should concentrate our energy together."
Considering the current practice and state of the tech industry, being transferred instead of being laid off is a big win, especially since even social media and other tech giants are conducting job cuts that are affecting thousands.
From an outside perspective, it's not looking so good for the formerly popular site. The current mainstream platforms are already working on new features that will help retain their users, while Tumblr is still working on encouraging people to sign up.
Tumblr is Losing Millions Every Year
Company CEO Matt Mullenweg co-hosted a Q&A event with COO Zandy Ring, answering questions as to how the site is faring. It was revealed that Tumblr was losing $30 million every year, which says a lot about the current state of the platform.
The event which was held in July was widely advertised on the site so more users would attend. However, it ended up having only 800 attendees, according to Gizmodo. The decline may have been due to the site restricting explicit media, which led to the loss of 30% of its users.
Even that effort was somewhat of a failure. Other than banning content that a lot of its users obviously like, the social networking site also did not do a very good job of taking down flagged posts. Photos were wrongly identified and removed, further angering its users.
Realizing the mistake, Tumblr eventually took the policy back. In updated community guidelines, the site now allows nudity and "other kinds of adult material." As per The Verge, the company also said that they were "not here to judge your art."
