Image from Digital Trends
There have been rumors of it since last week, and now, it has finally been confirmed that Yahoo has, in fact, acquired Tumblr through much-awaited (or dreaded) official statements from Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer and Tumblr CEO David Karp .
It has been revealed that Yahoo acquired the social-blogging platform for the price of one (1) billion USD in cash as an attempt to capture the 18- to 24-year-old demographic.
So what changes should we expect now that Tumblr belongs to Yahoo? Should we get used to calling it Yumblr now?
In the announcement posted in their new blog, www.yahoo.tumblr.com, Mayer herself reassured the public that Tumblr will continue to operate independently as a separate business and that Karp will remain CEO. Karp, meanwhile, attempted to hose down the uproar of unhappy Tumblr users with his official statement on the Tumblr Staff blog: “We’re not turning purple. Our headquarters isn’t moving. Our team isn’t changing. Our roadmap isn’t changing. And our mission—to empower creators to make their best work and get it in front of the audience they deserve—certainly isn’t changing.”
“Tumblr gets better faster. The work ahead of us remains the same—and we still have a long way to go!—but with more resources to draw from,” he added.
Mayer revealed that Tumblr will be able to deploy Yahoo’s personalization technology and search infrastructure to enhance users’ content-discovery experience. She also claimed that the two companies will be working together to create better advertising opportunities.
To those who aren’t convinced of Yahoo’s intentions, Mayer promises in her announcement that Yahoo won’t “screw it up.”
“Tumblr is incredibly special and has a great thing going,” she said, “The product roadmap, their team, their wit and irreverence will all remain the same as well their mission to empower creators to make their best work and get it in front of the audience they deserve.”
What do you have to say about Yahoo’s Tumblr buyout? Speak out in the comment section below.