Yahoo! and Tumblr: A match made in heaven?

Image http://www.digitaltrends.com

In case you hadn't heard, multi-national internet corporation Yahoo! has acquired content creation platform Tumblr in a billion dollar deal yesterday that not only sent any other start-up owner into an envious dither over the 26-year-old billionaire's new fortune, but left the rest of us pondering Yahoo!'s long-term strategy.

This is mainly a revenue generating exercise for Yahoo!, since being over taken by Google in terms of the online advertising go-to site, CEO Marissa Mayer has been searching for a sturdy foundation to strengthen Yahoo!'s otherwise crumbling content bastion in a constantly changing digital climate.

By tying down Tumblr's giant audience; a collective monthly page view number of 17.5 billion; Yahoo! had this to say,

"The two companies will work together to create advertising opportunities that are seamless and enhance the user experience."

Although Tumblr's growth has been steady for the past few years, the sudden buzz around the platform may spur a further initial interest. For those who have not used Tumblr before, the intrigue around the high-profile acquisition could lead to investigation while others may feel compelled to dust the cobwebs off their old blogs and start posting again.

Since yesterday, quite a few old but still relevant blog posts around the subject of Tumblr have been circulating such as this: SEO for Tumblr Blogs written by Distilled in 2009 and this infographic from 'social scientist', Dan Zarella.

My eye has also been drawn to the resurrection of Tumblr lists such as Ultimate List of all the Best Art + Photo Tumblrs to Follow and The 10 Funniest Tumblrs.

There are, of course, those who think that Yahoo!'s latest attempt at becoming cool is doomed to failure. The young, tech-hip Tumblr generation are a demographic Yahoo! deems lucrative yet endlessly unattainable and their latest move to some people is the digital version of your dad doing the robot at your 16th birthday party.

The worries are not unfounded as it has been reported that Marissa Mayer told analysts during a conference that Yahoo! is "making a sincere promise to not screw [Tumblr] up." Not exactly a vote of confidence!

 

(image via Tumblr)

What Yahoo! does with Tumblr really remains to be seen but since it's been the hot topic in the office we thought we would share Branded3?s favourite Tumblr blogs:

Luke Aylward – Meerkats That Look Like Nigel Farage - http://nigelorlov.tumblr.com/

Andrew Machin – Texts from Dog - http://textfromdog.tumblr.com/

Alan Ng – Reasons my Son is Crying  - http://reasonsmysoniscrying.tumblr.com/

Fiona Dunphy – Women Laughing Alone While Eating Salad - http://womenlaughingwithsalad.tumblr.com/

Joe Griffiths – Kim Jong-Il Looking at Things - http://kimjongillookingatthings.tumblr.com/

Georgia Halston – This Advertising Life - http://thisadvertisinglife.tumblr.com/

Andy Curry – Agency Wank -http://agencywank.tumblr.com/

Felicity Crouch – Animal GIFs - http://animalygifs.tumblr.com/

Catherine Desrochers – GIF Movie - http://gifmovie.tumblr.com/

Emma Barnes – This SEO Life - http://www.thisseolife.com/

Jordan Appleson – Hey Girl, I Like the Library Too - http://librarianheygirl.tumblr.com/

Laura Crimmons – #iworkinpr -http://iworkinpr.tumblr.com/

BY Georgia Halston AT 2:39pm ON Tuesday, 21 May 2013

Georgia is a Social Media Strategist here at Branded3 and specialises in social media monitoring, measurement and return on investment. She has featured as a speaker at Branded3 events and is a regular contributor to the #Socialised blog, tune in every Friday for her Social Media Round-up. Follow @georgiahalston on Twitter