I’ve been reading so many tweets over the last week by Twitter users saying they want to move to micro-blogging site Tumblr after the controversial Elon Musk takeover. But will Tumblr really be the ultimate alternative platform? And will Twitter really become a wasteland after Musk’s multiple questionable decisions?
Looking at the current Tumblr tag on Twitter, it really does look like Twitter users are thinking about moving to the micro-blogging site. And if you’re not familiar with Tumblr, it’s described as a microblogging and social networking website that allows users to post multimedia and other content to a short-form blog.
And as a millennial who had used the platform religiously from when she was a teenager to her early twenties, it was a fun site for me to share content based on my specific interests. Sure, a lot of cringe-y stuff happened there, but I can guarantee you that the stuff I tweet and post on TikTok are equally as cringe-y—so the problem might not be Tumblr.
As much fun as I had with Tumblr, I personally won’t go back on the platform. If you’re looking for a Twitter alternative that works like Twitter, you’re looking at the wrong platform. For one thing, it’s not exactly a social media platform. A Twitter user claims that they have “almost 9K followers” on Tumblr without making a single conversation.
Recently, Tumblr seemed to have taken advantage of the Elon Musk/Twitter-related mess by announcing that it is now allowing nudity on the platform. Tumblr previously banned adult content (including “female-presenting nipples”) in 2018. The platform also posted a timely thread on Twitter trying to convince users to migrate. This includes them mentioning that Tumblr has a “free edit button“—something that Twitter has only offered to paying users.
According to CNA, they expect that a few Twitter-based communities might successfully migrate to other platforms. Kpop Twitter might migrate to Tumblr, and the academic-based community is apparently seen migrating to Mastodon—a similar platform to Twitter. It’s unlikely that the entire Twitter community will leave the platform, but who knows what else Musk has up his sleeves to make Twitter an absolute nightmare to use.
