Verizon Acquisition Will Make Tumblr Relevant Again

Article after article, blogs across the web are claiming “Tumblr is dying.” Tumblr this and Tumblr that…NO! Tumblr is about to make a huge comeback, we’re calling it here first, and here’s why.

Verizon to the Rescue

Back in 2013, Yahoo paid $1.1 billion for Tumblr. In July of 2016, Verizon purchased Yahoo for $4.83 billion. By transitive property, Verizon now has a stake in Tumblr. This could very well be the push Tumblr needs to be relevant again.

A few months back, Yahoo decreased Tumblr’s value by $712 million. There are only 65 million users on Tumblr, compared to 100 million on Snapchat and 500 million on Instagram. This sends waves of negative sentiment on the internet. Is Tumblr dying? What could save it? I believe Verizon will be the savior Tumblr so desperately needs.

First of all, Verizon owns AOL. AOL owns Huffington Post and TechCrunch. These sorts of popular sites can be used to push Tumblr’s relevancy on the web.

For example, Huffington Post attracts 30 million users every month. The website is ranked 158th in the world and its users tend to be liberal. TechCrunch receives about 9 million tech-savvy users a month. This is just the sort of audience Tumblr taps into: liberal, tech-savvy, journalistic and creative individuals. Given the opportunity, Tumblr can leverage sites like these to expand their reach. There are now tens of millions of people, accessible through Verizon affiliated sites, that Tumblr can blast its messages out to.

Echoes of AOL

A huge issue Tumblr had after being acquired by Yahoo is that Yahoo followed a hands-off approach. If Verizon’s CEO Lowell McAdams takes a different approach and helps steer the Tumblr ship, this could push the company to new heights. McAdams has a pretty fascinating track record. He lead the acquisition of AOL and maintained its growth along with that of TechCrunch and Huffington Post.

Do you remember how AOL was slowly becoming irrelevant before it was acquired by Verizon? Business Insider recently reported that “AOL pulled in $669 million in Q1 2016 — its highest Q1 revenue in 5 years — pushing parent company Verizon’s Q1 revenues to $31.2 billion.” The report goes on to state that “even though AOL represents a small portion of Verizon’s total revenue, the results demonstrate the impact AOL is having on Verizon’s growth.” Using AOL as an analogue for Tumblr, it’s very possible that Verizon could push Tumblr to relevancy again, as well.

New Tumblr Features = New Tumblr Users

Another factor that could reinforce growth within Tumblr is advertising. Tumblr recently announced plans to introduce a new advertising program which would implement ads across all user blogs. Though details have yet to be released, Tumblr staff has noted that users will be able to make money off of advertisements on their blogs (users will have to go through a registration process later this year to benefit from the program). Now every creative, weirdo and Tumblr aficionado will have the opportunity to thrive and amplify the platform.

If the platform continues to update regularly, we may see an increase in users. Recently Tumblr has also included live video to the platform. Celebrities on Tumblr can also ask their fans direct questions. More features like this will continue to push Tumblr’s relevancy among the creative class.

Will Verizon’s acquisition of Tumblr will be enough to fuel its resurgence? Let us know what you think by dropping a comment below or continuing the conversation on Twitter.