{"id":26266,"date":"2019-08-13T14:59:20","date_gmt":"2019-08-13T18:59:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/?p=26266"},"modified":"2019-08-16T15:13:43","modified_gmt":"2019-08-16T19:13:43","slug":"verizon-sells-tumblr-to-automattic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2019\/08\/13\/verizon-sells-tumblr-to-automattic\/","title":{"rendered":"Verizon Sells Tumblr to Automattic"},"content":{"rendered":"

Julia Alexander<\/a> (Hacker News<\/a>):<\/p>\n

Verizon has agreed to sell Tumblr to WordPress owner Automattic Inc. for an undisclosed amount, The<\/em>Wall Street Journal <\/em>reports<\/a>. <\/p>

Verizon, which first acquired Tumblr in 2017 after it purchased Yahoo, started to explore a sale earlier this year<\/a>. Automattic reportedly bought Tumblr for less than $3 million, according to Axios<\/em><\/a>, a stunning drop in value from the $1.1 billion Yahoo paid for it in 2013. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

Marco Arment<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

This is pretty cool. Can’t think of a better owner today than Automattic for Tumblr’s huge creative publishing community.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Matt Mullenweg<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

Will do our best to make you proud about this next chapter for \n@tumblr.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Matt Mullenweg<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

When the possibility to join forces became concrete, it felt like a once-in-a-generation opportunity to have two beloved platforms work alongside each other to build a better, more open, more inclusive – and, frankly, more fun web. I knew we had to do it.<\/p>\n

In the underlying technology of our platforms, I think there are some good opportunities to standardize on the Open Source WordPress tech stack, but the front-end user experience on Tumblr will evolve on its own path. It has been so successful already, and we want to keep that going.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Colin Devroe<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

This is good for a variety of reasons. It ensures Tumblr will very likely be around in some form or another in perpetuity while still retaining its unique posting UI that its community no-doubt loves. I know I love it. I wish I had the same thing for my WordPress blog. Maybe I will get that now?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Brian Krogsgard<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

The most recent controversy for Tumblr was a community revolt over the treatment of adult content<\/a>. Matt says Tumblr’s new adult content policy will stay in place under the new ownership. On Hacker News, he said<\/a>, “Adult content is not our forte either, and it creates a huge number of potential issues with app stores, payment providers, trust and safety… it’s a problem area best suited for companies fully dedicated to creating a great experience there. I personally have very liberal views on these things, but supporting adult content as a business is very different.”<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

Tumblr will remain a separate brand. There is a dedicated Tumblr community even after years of neglect and confusion. Still, Matt says Tumblr’s user base is “several times larger than [WordPress.com’s].”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Previously:<\/p>\n