Does Yahoo Still Own Tumblr? Spoiler: Nope!
Ah, the brief history of Yahoo and Tumblr is a tale as old as time—well, at least as ancient as dial-up internet! Back in 2013, Yahoo made headlines by plunking down a whopping $1.1 billion to acquire Tumblr, presumably thinking they’d struck gold. But alas, what a disaster that was!
Picture this: a tech giant, clinging to its last shreds of relevance, desperately trying to chase the social media wave and strolled into the kaleidoscopic world of Tumblr. Here was a platform full of quirky fandom content, cat memes, and yes, a healthy dose of NSFW glory. What could possibly go wrong? Oh, just about everything!
“Unfortunately, we got the turd instead of nugget.”
Fast forward to December 2018, and the sad story took another turn when Verizon Media, who had bought Yahoo (yes, it’s like a tech merry-go-round), decided to sell Tumblr for a mere $3 million to Automattic, the folks who bring you WordPress. Talk about a devaluation! From billion-dollar acquisition to a bargain bin special. Poor Yahoo must’ve been thinking, “Did we really just buy a rapid decline in user engagement wrapped in LGBTQ+ creativity?”
Marissa Mayer was at the helm during this gloriously misguided acquisition, and the accompanying policies she implemented turned Tumblr’s vibe from a thriving online community to a sterile, lifeless shell of its former self. Let’s just say that her decision to ban NSFW content might as well have been a condemning sentence for the platform! One could argue that this single move sent hordes of devoted users packing for friendlier—read: less judgmental—pastures like Reddit. The horror!
Yahoo’s legacy as a corporate misfire isn’t limited to just this comedy of errors. Remember their rumored interest in acquiring Netflix? Phew! Dodged that bullet. If Yahoo had bagged Netflix instead of Tumblr, we might have been binge-watching *The Office* on something called “Yahoo Stream.” And let’s be real, who needs that in their lives?
So, to wrap it all up in a sarcastic bow, NO, Yahoo does not own Tumblr anymore, and it’s a good thing, too. It’s a bittersweet reminder that sometimes in the world of corporate acquisitions, you’re just one poor decision away from a massive social media implosion. If you have burning questions or want to dive even deeper into this quirky corporate soap opera, don’t hesitate! Live connect with us for more juicy tidbits or help!
