Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD: As Twitter’s fate hangs in the balance, users reported that Tumblr was inaccessible. Could it be due to an inflow of users leaving Twitter due to its recent owner’s new “hardcore” policies?
In the aftermath of Musk’s new policy orders, the firm’s headquarters shut down as many key staff further resigned (after a 50 percent reduction in workforce), leaving the future of social media service in doubt. The CEO has drawn criticism for introducing significant changes to the California-based company he recently acquired for $44 billion.
However, amidst Twitter’s woes, “Tumblr” has been one of the top trends on Twitter itself.
What is Tumblr?
Tumblr, voiced as “tumbler,” founded in 2007, is a simple, customizable blogging platform that appeals to a specific audience: creative young people who want to express themselves online.
Users can create a dedicated page on the platform to publish blogs, pictures, videos, and other types of content. Users can also privatize their blogs.
Tumblr’s resurgence
It’s no surprise that users have started logging back into their Tumblr accounts. While Twitter is having a mega-breakdown right now, Tumblr is having a mega-resurgence,” Tweeted a user.
A user tweeted how they missed their teen years using Tumblr. “Well, it was a lovely time, I’ve enjoyed you all very much. Instagram is where I’m mostly at, but I’m absolutely down to migrate to @tumblr bc my entire teens were spent on it, and if it’s giving what it was in 2010, I’m beyond with this. I like art and discourse, and we all do that,” the user tweeted.
The user also created a poll asking Twitter where they were headed. Almost 45% of users voted in favor of Tumblr, 35% for Instagram, and 21% for TikTok.
Artists also reminded those migrating to Tumblr to use the ‘reblog’ button — it lets users quickly share things they find on the platform.
Twitter isn’t easy to replace; however, it may crumble under Elon Musk. Marketwatch listed Tumblr and Mastodon in its list of social media alternatives in case it shuts down.
Tumblr takes a dig at Twitter
Recently, the official Twitter account of Tumblr tweeted 23 reasons to join the microblogging network. The series of tweets reminded users what they were missing out on as Tumblr mocked Elon Musk’s recent radical policy shifts — Musk had announced a monthly fee of $8 for account verification, only to see a surge in impersonators and hate speech skyrocket on the platform.
According to Tumblr, among those features that are missing in Twitter are: Multimedia posts, including images, GIFs, video, and audio alongside your text, a ridiculously huge character limit, the ability to control the user feed with the options to turn off algorithmic recommendations, the ability to post up to 30 images in a post, the edit button is free, customizable blog, the ability to stay anonymous or show your follower counts, being able to make as many blogs as you want, group blogs (invite multiple people to post one blog).
The platform could have been down due to technical reasons. However, recently, Tumblr has been very active on Twitter, making hay while the sun shines.
