Once sold for $1.1 billion dollars to Yahoo, the social media platform Tumblr has been sold by Verizon to WordPress owner Automattic Inc. for reportedly “well below $20 million.”
What We Know:
- With sites like Instagram and Twitter taking the spotlight away from the app, Tumblr has been struggling for a while. Along with the recent decision to ban porn on the site, the site has had less traffic than ever before.
- According to Sensor Tower, first-time users for Tumblr’s mobile app declined 33 percent year-over-year last quarter. The sale was not surprising, with it being reported in May that Verizon was already looking for a new owner for the site after it was shown they were not going to be a good fit.
- As part of the deal with Automattic Inc., the company will take on 200 Tumblr staffers. “Tumblr is one of the Web’s most iconic brands…It is an essential venue to share new ideas, cultures and experiences…We are excited to add it to our lineup, which already includes WordPress .com, WooCommerce, Jetpack, Simplenote, Longreads, and more,” said Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg.
- In their own blog post, Tumblr wrote, “We couldn’t be more excited to be joining a team that has a similar mission. Many of you know WordPress.com, Automattic’s flagship product. WordPress.com and Tumblr were both early pioneers among blogging platforms.”
- “Automattic shares our vision to build passionate communities around shared interests and to democratize publishing so that anyone with a story can tell it, especially when they come from under-heard voices and marginalized communities,” they concluded.
Let’s see if this sale brings any changes to the site!
