Is Tumblr Doomed?

Posted by Katie Edmondson, 21 Aug 2012

Tumblr is doing things differently. While Facebook and Twitter constantly load up on new features—many of which premiere to groans from avid users—Tumblr is scaling down and making things simpler in order to foster a positive artistic community. Tumblr also stands out by refusing to employ traditional digital-advertising methods. With more than 64 million blogs and 15 billion monthly page views, Tumblr could easily make millions through display, banner or video ads. But founder David Karp is sticking to his guns and rejecting anything he deems counter-creative. Instead he is focusing on a more holistic, integrated form of advertising wherein the brands involved must create great content on Tumblr. But given that the platform hosts edgy content (most recently, the disturbing “Holmies" sect) and is still largely pigeonholed as a place for fanatics and fanatical sharers, is this just wishful thinking? 

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Tumblr Says No to Interruption

Posted by Karen Nagy, 10 Mar 2011
As social sharing sites continue to incorporate interruptive advertising into their free models — Twitter’s Hoot Suite deal dropping ads into users' streams, and Facebook Sponsored Stories turning users’ social lives into ads, to name a few — Tumblr gets the Post Advertising stamp of approval for refusing to badger users with unwanted messages. Tumblr has been opposed to advertising from the get-go, but is the no interruption approach sustainable? We hope so.
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