2023 Tumblr Changes

Overview

The 2023 Tumblr Changes refers to a set of policy and platform changes proposed by the management of the microblogging social network site Tumblr in the summer of 2023. The stated goal of these changes was to make the site more usable and attractive for new users. Upon the announcement, a large amount of the existing user base protested against the changes, especially the idea that the traditional Tumblr chronological feed could be replaced by an algorithmic one.

Background

The summer of 2023 was a moment of considerable change in the social media sector. New platforms like Threads and Bluesky sought to disrupt the balance of power while existing platforms and services underwent significant change and transformation. Some identified long-term trends like enshittification or argued that the long-term trends of Web3 and artificial intelligence posed a threat to internet culture in general.^[1]

Tumblr user numbers peaked in the mid-2010s, and by 2023, after changing hands a number of times and undergoing several controversial policy changes (notably around NSFW content in 2018) the platform had developed a specific niche in online culture but had been largely surpassed by competitors in terms of market share.^[2]

On July 10th, 2023, the official Tumblr account shared a statement of purpose and its plan for the future of the platform, with proposals aimed at increasing the size of the site's user base.^[3] Their proposals centered around a set of principles outlined in six bullet points (seen below).

Much of Tumblr's plan focused on appealing to users who were less familiar with Tumblr, working to make the site easier to use and more similar to other social media platforms.

One key proposal involved changing the reply structure to Tumblr posts so that they would supposedly be easier to navigate and more organized. Another key proposal implied doing algorithmic changes in an attempt to both help new creators reach audiences and to engage new users on the platform.

Online Reactions

Upon the July 10th, 2023, announcement, numerous users on Tumblr reacted negatively to the proposed changes. A number of users posted polls about the changes to the site, encouraging others to repost them for visibility. The most viral poll, voted on over 130,000 times in a day and posted by user darkwood-sleddog on July 10th (seen below, left), showed overwhelming opposition to an algorithmic feed.^[4] Others remembered past troubles surrounding the site, such as officialmisha, who received almost 600 notes on July 11th (seen below, right).^[5]

Other memes mocked the management of Tumblr, accusing them of abandoning a loyal user base and disrespecting its culture. Some also made connections between Tumblr's decisions and the overall environment of social media in the summer of 2023, such as Tumblr user chaser^[6] on July 11th (seen below, left), who earned over 600 likes in less than a day for posting about the changes, and such-a-fellow, who explained their view of the situation with an Assassination Chain meme (seen below, right).^[7]

External References