When you think about it, Tumblr is really the epitome of a complete brand. It’s the perfect mix of cute aesthetic and useful functionality. The app was originally designed as a blogging platform, but it has since evolved into so much more. These days, you can find just about any content on the site—from blogs to galleries to memes and more. With hundreds of millions of monthly active users, it’s just an app that keeps on ticking.
But did you know that you can actually get a degree in creative writing from a prestigious university just for making a blog post or two on Tumblr? All you need is a creative writing degree, which is why we’ve collected a list of 11 facts about the award-winning blog platform that might surprise you.
1. It Was Previously Called Yotd Because of Its Young Audience
Before it was officially unveiled in 2014, the app was known as Yotd, which stood for Yet Another Tumblr Disguised as something Else. That was until March 2015, when it was officially announced that the app would be called Tumblr. It was previously known as Yotd because there was already another blogging platform called Blogger. While Yotd was a cute name and a play on words, the official name was chosen to give it a more mature appeal.
2. There Are Over 200 Million Monthly Active Users On Tumblr
In 2014, Bloomberg reported that there were 200 million monthly active users on Tumblr. The report also stated that the platform was growing at a rate of 20 million users per year. Since then, the figures have not been questioned.
Even more impressively, that was just the free tier of the app. Many people don’t even know that Tumblr offers a premium version that comes with additional storage and features. According to the site, there are over 300 million monthly active users on their platform. While it’s hard to quantify the reach of a blog platform such as Tumblr, we can safely assume that it’s easily in the hundreds of millions.
3. Many Celebrities Make Money Off Their Blogs
It’s no secret that celebrities use blogs to try and stay relevant, especially when it comes to fashion. With so many people following them on social media, it’s the perfect platform to share new looks and get instant feedback. The Financial Times recently estimated that bloggers earn an average of £7.39 per hour, or £141,520 per year. Not bad for a few hours’ work, right?
4. It Grew From Zero to 1.7 Million Users in 12 Hours
On September 2, 2013, Tumblr launched with only 1.7 million users. A year later, their user base had more than doubled to 3.4 million, and then hit the 4 million mark just six months later in February 2015.
The day that Tumblr went from zero to 1.7 million users, they achieved that goal in 12 hours—and then doubled it in 24 hours. This sudden increase in users shows just how quickly the platform can grow once it gets going. Even more impressively, this is just one of the many success stories that have come from the platform. It is definitely a testament to Tumblr’s success that the company can grow that quickly from a small audience.
5. It Was Founded By Joel Spolsky
Joel Spolsky is one of the co-founders of Stack Overflow, which was founded in 2008 and has now over 100 million monthly active users. In addition to founding Stack Overflow, Spolsky also started a blog, which he calls ‘the thinking person’s companion’.
The first post on Spolsky’s blog, which was titled ‘Introducing Tumblr’, was published on September 2, 2013, exactly a year before the release of Tumblr. This demonstrates how influential and ahead of his time Spolsky was in terms of blogging and social media. According to Spolsky, Tumblr was the best way to consolidate all of his favorite blogs into one place, and it was an easy way to experiment with different fonts and colors. From the very beginning, Spolsky foresaw the potential of Tumblr, and he was right.
6. It Was Originally Meant to Be a Blogging Platform
When discussing the origin of Tumblr, it’s important to note that it wasn’t always meant to be a blog platform. Back in 2009, when Spolsky and his team were developing the app, they were originally trying to create a platform that could be used for any kind of content—including videos. In the beginning, users could easily swap out the blog templates that came with the app, and even use the same header and footer from a different blog. This proved that even more flexibility than what is available on the basic app version would be beneficial. It was only a matter of time before the video function was added, and then the meme function.
7. Memes And Self-expression Are Its Forte
Just like many other platforms, memes are a major part of Tumblr. From the very beginning, the team behind the app saw memes as a way of expressing oneself creatively, and a way of having fun with content that could otherwise be considered ‘serious’. Just like with many other platforms, the importance of memes on the site grew along with its audience. In October 2014, TikTok—a mobile app that allows users to post short-form videos—grew to 500 million monthly active users, and that was just three years after it was first launched. Since then, the app has continued to grow rapidly, currently boasting over a billion monthly active users. What started as a simple way of expressing oneself through comedy and creative memes has turned into an entire subculture on the platform.
8. Self-expression And Humor Are Its Core Values
“I believe that each person’s uniqueness makes for a more interesting world. When you can’t find the words to express yourself, writing them down is the best way to get them out.” This is the ethos behind Tumblr. The team at Tumblr want to provide a space for people to express themselves creatively, and they want to do that through self-expression and comedy. In their own words, “The most beautiful things in life are the things that make you feel. The things that make you feel are the things that inspire you to create.”
9. Self-expression Is A Major Part Of Its DNA
Even though the company behind Tumblr is a software development company, the majority of their workforce are bloggers themselves. This is because the company values creative self-expression, and sees their employees as potential future bloggers who might become frustrated with the limited options available on the basic app. The idea is to give employees a taste of what it’s like to be a successful blogger (with all the perks that come with it), and help them grow their own personal brands and communities.
10. Self-expression Is Backed By Data
One of the ways that Tumblr tries to ensure that their platform remains creative and innovative is by regularly analyzing and incorporating analytics into their decision-making process. When looking at the success of a blog on the site, Tumblr will first look at demographic information such as the country the blog is reaching out to and the gender of its audience. In some cases, they will also look at the age of the audience to see what type of content they are seeking out. This way, they can determine what kind of content to promote and whether or not to censor certain content that is deemed inappropriate for certain ages or demographics.
11. It Started As A Blogging Platform, But It Has Since Evolved
One of the reasons that Tumblr was able to grow so rapidly from a small audience is because it was initially designed as a blogging platform. Even if you didn’t have a blog of your own, you could still use Tumblr to write and publish quick content on a variety of topics. The platform has continued to evolve since its inception, and it now offers several different features that serve various needs. While it’s still a great option for people who want to blog, it has also become a place for users to discover and curate content across a variety of topics.
It’s clear that over the years, Tumblr has continued to grow and evolve alongside the internet itself. The platform was originally created as a simple blogging platform, but it has since become so much more. The number of people using the app—and the content that is available on it—would likely surprise you.