#and i think that parasocial relationship + the way Yahoo let Tumblr just languish | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

the-four-humors · 1 year

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Saw someone arguing with an actual staff member - who was confirming that, behind the scenes, your definition of what Tumblr 'is' as a user is different from the actual metrics - that Tumblr is "the fandom website" and implied that it always has been.

Which is just............. demonstrably wrong?

There were YEARS where The Bit that everyone committed to on this website was 'hipster blog vs fandom blog'. There have ALWAYS been Normies on Tumblr, and they make up a MUCH bigger part of the userbase than anyone wants to admit, because they're the quiet majority.

They're the ones reposting memes and making moodboards. They're the ones making Taylor Swift a trending tag. They're the ones that people on Twitter wax nostalgic about.

While staff have been more involved with the fandom side of Tumblr lately, fandom blogs have never been the priority.

#this is not a defense of like. staff pushing the algorithm #i range from 'dont love it' to 'actively hate it' on a lot of changes #but Tumblr's userbase has always had a weirdly parasocial relationship with staff #dating back to the days of 'daddy Karp'#which leads people to think that they personally are the client staff must answer to #...you arent #as with ANY social media website you are not the customer #you are the product #advertisers are the customer #and i think that parasocial relationship + the way Yahoo let Tumblr just languish #has lead to an extreme pushback now that staff are trying to make the site profitable #and realizing that profit-driven web communities are actively hostile to human life

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