Changes

[[File:Screen shot 2011-08-31 at 3.34.58 PM.png|thumb|A fannish discussion taking place on Tumblr, with examples of "liking," direct replies, and reblogging.]]

[[File:Screen shot 2011-08-31 at 3.34.58 PM.png|thumb|A fannish discussion taking place on Tumblr, with examples of "liking," direct replies, and reblogging.]]

[[File:Derek Grumpy.png|thumb|Tumblr fandom in a nutshell: attractive actors, cats, internet memes, and an argument made with compelling visuals instead of text]]

[[File:Derek Grumpy.png|thumb|Tumblr fandom in a nutshell: attractive actors, cats, internet memes, and an argument made with compelling visuals instead of text]]

'''Tumblr''' is a micro-blogging platform with social networking features that allows users to post text, images, audio, and video. It is a popular tool for [[fannish]] [[picspam]]s and [[gif set]]s.  Tumblr users interact by replying directly to posts, "liking," and reblogging with optional commentary. Users can also DM each other via the "ask" feature, though the receiver then has the power to choose whether to answer privately, directly to the asker, or publicly on their blog, revealing the original question to all and sundry. Lengthy discussions do take place on Tumblr, although they are less structured than on [[Journal-based fandom|journaling platforms]] such as [[LiveJournal]] and [[Dreamwidth]].  

'''Tumblr''' is a micro-blogging platform with social networking features that allows users to post text, images, audio, and video. It is a popular tool for [[fannish]] [[picspam]]s and [[gif set]]s.  Tumblr users interact by replying directly to posts, "liking," and reblogging with optional commentary. Users can also DM each other via the "ask" feature, though the receiver then has the power to choose whether to answer privately, directly to the asker, or publicly on their blog, revealing the original question to all and sundry. In 2016 Tumblr added a messaging feature allowing blogs to chat back and forth privately. Lengthy discussions do take place on Tumblr, although they are less structured than on [[Journal-based fandom|journaling platforms]] such as [[LiveJournal]] and [[Dreamwidth]].  

In May 2013, [[Yahoo!]] bought Tumblr for $1.1 billion,<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/20/technology/yahoo-to-buy-tumblr-for-1-1-billion.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 Yahoo to Buy Tumblr for $1.1 Billion] dated May 19, 2013; [Yahoo to Buy Tumblr for $1.1 Billion reference link].</ref> leading some fans to predict a slow and gradual demise of the platform as a fandom community.<ref>[http://fail-fandomanon.livejournal.com/58263.html?thread=271994519#t271994519 Tumblr sponsors] post about advertising on [[Tumblr]] dated June 3, 2013;[http://www.webcitation.org/6H7uKX9O6 reference link].  </ref>  

In May 2013, [[Yahoo!]] bought Tumblr for $1.1 billion,<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/20/technology/yahoo-to-buy-tumblr-for-1-1-billion.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 Yahoo to Buy Tumblr for $1.1 Billion] dated May 19, 2013; [Yahoo to Buy Tumblr for $1.1 Billion reference link].</ref> leading some fans to predict a slow and gradual demise of the platform as a fandom community.<ref>[http://fail-fandomanon.livejournal.com/58263.html?thread=271994519#t271994519 Tumblr sponsors] post about advertising on [[Tumblr]] dated June 3, 2013;[http://www.webcitation.org/6H7uKX9O6 reference link].  </ref>