obitoftheday asks: What do you think happens if Yahoo buys Tumblr? And why do we all agree that it seems like a bad idea?
» SFB says: I think Tumblr starts monetizing itself more effectively. For years they’ve tried to do everything but the obvious, but the problem is, they’ve turned down a lot of good ideas as a result.
(Comparison: WordPress.com has succeeded at profitability by both offering paid premium features and revenue sharing-style advertising for bloggers—both things Tumblr has chosen not to do, but could arguably do better than WordPress if it chose to do so. Nobody really complains about Wordpress’ ads. Think that might be because they created a context for it that didn’t bug users?)
But this could come at the cost of a very strong community. I know of one heavily-active user I liked reading, The Callus, who has quit Tumblr and deleted all of his posts as a result of the whiff of a rumor of this buyout happening. I don’t think you or anyone else should follow suit, but that’s what people are doing.
As for the “bad idea” chunk of your questions, the problem is this: Yahoo has a reputation for letting acquisitions flounder under its corporate structure. Even the big ones. Delicious, for example, was nearly shut down before the founders of YouTube swooped in and saved it. And Yahoo has also tried the user-generated market before, including with Geocities and Yahoo Meme (which was effectively Yahoo’s failed attempt to create a Tumblr clone). Yahoo has a long list of discontinued products. And while Laurie Voss has a good point about Flickr, there’s a better point here: Building a community with integrity is tough, and change at the top can ruin everything if done the wrong way. I can understand why people might be worried. I’m worried, too. — Ernie @ SFB
P.S.: One key line from the story we linked last night: “sources say the company only has a few months of cash runway left.” Who knows if that’s true, but this is a company that unceremoniously fired its editorial team recently—a move that could be seen in a different light considering that line, though that’s speculative. Tumblr can’t run on dreams and reblogs and investor money forever. Something has to change on the business front to ensure the likes can keep coming. That change can come from the inside, but the change can come more easily from an exit.
obitoftheday asks: What do you think happens in Yahoo buys Tumblr? And why do we all agree that it seems like a bad idea?
(EDIT: On reader request, here’s a rebloggable version of this.)
» SFB says: I think Tumblr starts monetizing itself more effectively. For years they’ve tried to do everything but the obvious, but the problem is, they’ve turned down a lot of good ideas as a result.
(Comparison: WordPress.com has succeeded at profitability by both offering paid premium features and revenue sharing-style advertising for bloggers—both things Tumblr has chosen not to do, but could arguably do better than WordPress if it chose to do so. Nobody really complains about Wordpress’ ads. Think that might be because they created a context for it that didn’t bug users?)
But this could come at the cost of a very strong community. I know of one heavily-active user I liked reading, The Callus, who has quit Tumblr and deleted all of his posts as a result of the whiff of a rumor of this buyout happening. I don’t think you or anyone else should follow suit, but that’s what people are doing.
As for the “bad idea” chunk of your questions, the problem is this: Yahoo has a reputation for letting acquisitions flounder under its corporate structure. Even the big ones. Delicious, for example, was nearly shut down before the founders of YouTube swooped in and saved it. And Yahoo has also tried the user-generated market before, including with Geocities and Yahoo Meme (which was effectively Yahoo’s failed attempt to create a Tumblr clone). Yahoo has a long list of discontinued products. And while Laurie Voss has a good point about Flickr, there’s a better point here: Building a community with integrity is tough, and change at the top can ruin everything if done the wrong way. I can understand why people might be worried. I’m worried, too. — Ernie @ SFB
P.S.: One key line from the story we linked last night: “sources say the company only has a few months of cash runway left.” Who knows if that’s true, but this is a company that unceremoniously fired its editorial team recently—a move that could be seen in a different light considering that line, though that’s speculative. Tumblr can’t run on dreams and reblogs and investor money forever. Something has to change on the business front to ensure the likes can keep coming. That change can come from the inside, but the change can come more easily from an exit.
Patrick Stewart’s incredibly personal and powerful story about growing up with an abusive father.
An incredibly evocative, eloquent and moving story. Most definitely worth watching if you have a sturdy heart and a free fifteen minutes.
Right as the conductor was taking my ticket, the train went right off the tracks. It started tipping to one side, constantly bumping up and down and back and forth like crazy. I saw sparks right outside my window. Thirty seconds later, the train going the other way came and jammed right onto us. It scraped the side of our car and gave us another bad jolt. …Life goes on, and it’s not like we’re going to get rid of trains. But you have to figure out what caused this. The accident was right in the middle of what looks like a construction zone — did that play a part? You have to ask the questions.Scott Bartelson • Describing his passenger’s view of yesterday’s frightening train crash and derailment in Connecticut, which hospitalized over 60, some critically — but mercifully, no deaths reported. source
This is no doubt a momentous day for Hollande, who had pledged to legalize same-sex marriage during his first year in office, and succeeded in doing so despite vociferous protests from swaths of his citizenry. No actual same-sex marriage figures to be conducted until the 29th, as French law states that a marriage license must be filed ten days prior to the ceremony.
And the highest paid public employee in your state is…
Just be you, Vermont.
We’re guessing that this map, when viewed by anyone with a negative, apathetic, or in-perspective attitude towards sports, is probably a good way to spike your blood pressure. Still, nice to see that as in so many ways, New Hampshire is an island unto itself. (Update: Originally referred to “Vermont” instead of “New Hampshire.” That’s what we get for not checking our map!)
Thousands in Italy march in austerity protests
Reuters: Thousands participated in austerity protests in Rome on Saturday.
Italy is in the midst of its longest recession since 1970 and unemployment is close to record highs, with young people being hit particularly hard with a 38% jobless rate. Approval rates for the government have dropped from 43% to 34% in the last month.
Photo: Demonstrators applaud during the left-wing Italian metalworkers’ union FIOM rally in downtown Rome’s Piazza San Giovanni on Saturday. (Filippo Monteforte/AFP - Getty Images)
The last few years have left many in the European Union dubious of not only the hardships that austerity policies often visit on countries, but also of its practical efficacy, or lack thereof. This will be a paramount issue for the incoming coalition government in Italy.
To resign would be to flee. I don’t know if Kerry or anyone else has received the power of the Syrian people to talk in their name about who should go and who should stay. That will be determined by the Syrian people in the 2014 presidential elections.Bashar al-Assad • Insisting, in an interview with Argentinian newspaper Clarin, that he will not relinquish power over Syria until the 2014 presidential election (that is, unless he wins the election). This spurs a number of questions, chiefest among them whether Syrian presidential elections are fair and open, and whether such an election is even truly possible in the midst of a brutal civil war. In the first case, the answer is almost certainly no, sad to say — not many fair and open elections feature an incumbent netting better than 97% of the vote, which Assad accomplished by referendum (itself a bad system for democratic outcomes) in 2007. He also denied, in a very roundabout way, his government’s alleged use of chemical weapons: “If they were used in a city or a suburb with only 10 or 20 victims, would that be credible? …[It] would mean the death of thousands or tens of thousands of people in a matter of minutes. Who could hide something like that?” source
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Tumblr this morning. [h/t anne]
#@#$%!.tumblr.com
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The scandal surrounding Lopez is centered around his career as a legislator, as he’s accused of sexually harassing female legislative employees. The claims against him were made public last August, by way of a censure by Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver. On Friday he had said he planned to hang on for five weeks, and then run for a City Council seat — whether that quick return to politics remains the plan is unclear.
‘I couldn’t stop screaming’: Witnesses describe Texas tornadoes
(Photo: Ralph Lauer / EPA)
Survivors of the tornadoes that devastated two towns in Texas on Wednesday night described their terror as the violent storm tore apart their homes, killing six people and injuring dozens more.
The spate of extreme, hazardous weather we’ve seen over the last year or so has been truly disturbing, which is not to say the people of Texas aren’t in the know about tornado threats. Regardless, though, the damage and human toll here is deflating. Our thoughts are with the victims, stripped of their homes, and for some, their lives.
Tumblr feels that Yahoo’s $1.1 billion offer as “too low” and view it as “only a first offer”, according to sources close to to acquisition talks. Yahoo may have to significantly increase the offer to close the deal. An acquisition by some tech giant is likely in the cards for Tumblr, though, as sources say the company only has a few months of cash runway left.
… still hope yet, according to TechCrunch.
You might remember Aimee Copeland as the twentysomething who went through a harrowing experience last year, losing most of her limbs after a zip-line accident exposed her to flesh-eating bacteria. Fortunately, though, technology is giving her a second chance. Copeland recently received bionic hands from a company called Touch Bionics—devices which are so effective that she can actually grab things and do tasks that most people take for granted. Amazing stuff.
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