Yahoo! Buys Tumblr, Promises They Won’t ‘Screw It Up’
Yahoo! officially owns Tumblr after days of rumor and speculation. With a new boss in town, what can you expect out of Yahoo! Tumblr? We don’t know yet, but they’ve promised they won’t “screw it up.”
Yahoo confirmed Monday that its board had agreed to buy Tumblr for $1.1 billion cash. Yahoo’s CEO, Marissa Mayer, has actually been quite aggressive in acquiring social media sites lately, presumably to help attract a younger audience to the stumbling search engine.
Both Mayer and Tumblr head David Karp announced the deal on social media sites, though Yahoo! acquisition of Tumblr has been rumored for the past several days.
Though both Mayer and Karp are seemingly thrilled with the deal (Karp signed off his announcement post with “F*** Yeah, David”), each quickly made moves to assuage fears that Yahoo’s influence over Tumblr would change the service from what its users currently enjoy.
In a statement, Yahoo! said that Tumblr will operate under their umbrella, but as its own business. Karp will also remain CEO. So even though there will most definitely be changes of some kind (and as yet, unknowable), leaders on both sides have pledged to keep Tumblr the way it is.
“David Karp will remain CEO. The product, service and brand will continue to be defined and developed separately with the same Tumblr irreverence, wit, and commitment to empower creators,” said the Yahoo! statement.
Even Marissa Mayer’s Tumblr post confirming the purchase was a bit tongue-in-cheek, poking fun at worried Tumblr users. Almost as if to say “Don’t worry, nothing will change. But seriously, I am your God now.”
She also promised not to “screw it up” on Twitter.
Photo: I’m delighted to announce that we’ve reached an agreement to acquire Tumblr! We promise not to screw… tmblr.co/Z4v08slQ0n8V
— marissamayer (@marissamayer) May 20, 2013
Karp also tried to keep Tumblr users thinking positive in his own post about the purchase.
“Before touching on how awesome this is, let me try to allay any concerns: We’re not turning purple. Our headquarters isn’t moving. Our team isn’t changing. Our roadmap isn’t changing. And our mission – to empower creators to make their best work and get it in front of the audience they deserve – certainly isn’t changing.”
What do you think of Yahoo’s acquisition of Tumblr? What changes are you worried will take place?
[Image via: World Economic Forum / Wikimedia Commons]
