I’m an inveterate Tumblr consumer. I have a Tumblog, Fiat Justia, but I rarely (read: never) post there. Instead, I rely on Tumblr for All Things Fandom, and I don’t really want to have to find a new place for animated GIFsets and wacky mashups. So Marissa Mayer’s acknowledgment of the Tumblr Community’s (Tumbmunity?) concerns is touching.
She comes from Google. Motorola Mobility notwithstanding, they have been pretty good at acquisitions. Case in point: YouTube. You’d barely know it was acquired by Google in 2006.
By some reports, Tumblr had only a few months of cash left anyway, so this is a win all around. The investors get paid, the users get peace of mind that the platform won’t fold up, and Yahoo (I refuse to type the exclamation mark; I find it silly and unbecoming of a company that can shell out $1.1 Billion for pet GIFs and Doctor Who / Sherlock crossover fiction) gets the kind of credibility with the kids that you can’t normally buy.