Tumblr, a flailing social media website from a bygone period, could also be run by a skeleton crew any further. An alleged inside memo from guardian firm Automattic has made the rounds on social platforms (together with Threads), stating it has “not gotten the anticipated outcomes from our effort.” The choice seems to mark a pointy U-turn from a separate leak this summer time, claiming Automattic was constructing a TikTok-like algorithmic feed into the ageing website.
Though this doesn’t fairly seem like the tip of the street for Tumblr, the be aware doesn’t sound promising for the platform’s future. It says “nearly all of the 139 folks” will change to different Automattic tasks, leaving a barebones gang of Belief & Security and assist employees to supervise Tumblr’s smoldering embers. Given what number of brutal layoffs we’ve seen this 12 months, dealing with the transition in a means that avoids job losses could possibly be a silver lining.
Automattic, the corporate behind the running a blog instrument WordPress, acquired Tumblr in 2019 from Verizon, which landed the platform by way of its buy of Yahoo! (Engadget’s guardian firm) in 2017. It possible didn’t assist that its possession changed into a recreation of musical chairs, and none of them appeared to search out the precise formulation to get the microblogging community again on its ft. (Its controversial ban on grownup content material possible had one thing to do with that.)
“We’re on the level the place after 600+ person-years of effort put into Tumblr because the acquisition in 2019, we’ve got not gotten the anticipated outcomes from our effort, which was to have its income and utilization above its earlier peaks,” the alleged memo reads. After throwing in cliches about climbing mountains and being higher to try to fail than to not attempt in any respect, the be aware claims the crew’s subsequent step is to “mirror and determine the place else we should always focus our power collectively.”
Engadget reached out to Automattic for remark and affirmation however didn’t instantly obtain a response. We’ll replace this text if we hear again.
Along with WordPress, Automattic’s different manufacturers embody the journaling app Day One, the e-commerce plugin WooCommerce, Gravatar and the note-taking app SimpleNote.
