What are the biggest things that we are missing or broken in Tumblr search? Feel free to share your pain points or ideas on how to make Tumblr search the best.
Please also specify whether this is for a global search, tag search / community hub, or search within a blog.
honestly really sexy of tumblr to keep follower numbers private. how many people are following me? you'll never know unless I tell you. maybe it's a million, or a thousand, or five, or maybe it's just you. maybe you're the only one here, all by yourself, unable to see if there's anyone standing next to you.
and you'd never know, because status here is based on opinion and not numbers; how popular you think someone is is a vibes-only calculation, and besides the chronological algorithms-optional feed, it's genuinely the best thing tumblr's ever done.
every other social media site: here's how many followers this person has
tumblr:
ALTThe good news:
The neutral news:
The bad news:
Overall it was more chill than I expected, @photomatt and @zingring seem to be far more in tune with the userbase than u/spez.
Under the bad news column:
I did ask our ads team to investigate any kind of vibrancy or flashing on ads - we do not want to accidentally trigger seizures or cause distress with flashing etc. Buying ad-free (or gifting ad-free to someone else) is always an option, but that is not the solution (and of course, some folks simply can't afford it). Sorry that it sounded dismissive in the session! That was not my intent.
Here at Tumblr, we’ve been working hard on reorganizing how we work in a bid to gain more users. A larger user base means a more sustainable company, and means we get to stick around and do this thing with you all a bit longer. What follows is the strategy we're using to accomplish the goal of user growth. The @labs group has published a bit already, but this is bigger. We’re publishing it publicly for the first time, in an effort to work more transparently with all of you in the Tumblr community. This strategy provides guidance amid limited resources, allowing our teams to focus on specific key areas to ensure Tumblr’s future.
In order for Tumblr to grow, we need to fix the core experience that makes Tumblr a useful place for users. The underlying problem is that Tumblr is not easy to use. Historically, we have expected users to curate their feeds and lean into curating their experience. But this expectation introduces friction to the user experience and only serves a small portion of our audience.
Tumblr’s competitive advantage lies in its unique content and vibrant communities. As the forerunner of internet culture, Tumblr encompasses a wide range of interests, such as entertainment, art, gaming, fandom, fashion, and music. People come to Tumblr to immerse themselves in this culture, making it essential for us to ensure a seamless connection between people and content.
To guarantee Tumblr’s continued success, we’ve got to prioritize fostering that seamless connection between people and content. This involves attracting and retaining new users and creators, nurturing their growth, and encouraging frequent engagement with the platform.
To enhance Tumblr’s usability, we must address these core guiding principles.
Below is a deep dive into each of these principles.
Every pride, you must reblog this. No exceptions
I love that four different people on my feed scheduled this joyous person to reblog by 8am on June 1. I look forward to seeing this a dozen more times today.
A small PSA to all those new to dealing with the porn bots that Tumblr now has a fresh wave of – I understand that when you go to report them, you want to report them as "[containing] sexually explicit material", but don't do that. Report them as spam instead.
These are spam bots flooding tags and the website in general with spam links. They often do not have anything sexually explicit on their blog (although they often have implicit material). Plus, these two reports get very different results. Reporting explicit material gets the bot slapped behind an 18+ wall, so minors can't check if they're a bot or not. Reporting spam gets the bot taken down.
Remember, folks: when dealing with a bot, report spam, not smut!
i would like a moment to briefly note how important it is that benoit blanc is an older queer character. an older, happy queer character.
we are missing a good chunk of an entire generation of queer people due to the aids crisis. blanc living his cute happy little life, probably in his fifties, with his lovely partner, is such a beacon of hope. for me, at least.
I love that musk is groveling asking people to pay for their blue checkmarks while tumblr's fundraising solution was to sell a tiny shitting horse, shoe laces, forced post visibility, and crab rain
