By Kelly Faircloth 5/19 3:48pm

I'll Tumbl For You

Hipstblr (Photo: wikipedia.org)

Report: Yahoo/Tumblr Deal Is a Go, For $1.1 Billion in Cash

Here we go, folks! The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Yahoo’s board has approved a rumored deal to purchase Tumblr for $1.1 billion in cash money. Forbes reports Tumblr’s board, which includes reps from Union Square Ventures, Sequoia Capital and others, has already voted to approve the deal. If it’s true that the company has only a few months of runway left, they’d be fools not to.

It’s a happy enough ending for Tumblr’s investors (and employees lucky enough to have a significant amount of stock), sure, but it’s not exactly the stirring success story the New York startup scene might’ve wished for. (A YouTube’s nice, but a Google would be better.) Yahoo’s got a long history of snapping up startups and frittering away their potential, and $1.1 billion must dash a few hopes for Silicon Alley’s flagship. The company only made $13 million in revenue last year, but as of March it had 117 million unique users worldwide. Read More

By Kelly Faircloth 5/17 9:45am

I'll Tumbl For You

He's staring at a large pile of money, shimmering in the distance like an oasis.

Yahoo’s Futile Search for the Fountain of Youth Continues, With Talk of Acquiring Tumblr

Looks like there might be a suitor waiting in the wings for Tumblr, that scatterbrained belle of the ball. He’s a real gray-hair, though. According to AllThingsD, the blogging site is talking to Yahoo about the possibilities for an alliance, an investment or even a lock-stock-and-barrel purchase. Ad Week says the highly hypothetical price tag could be as much as a billion dollars.

At this point, it might be easier to keep a list of the startups Yahoo hasn’t considered acquiring. Read More

By Jessica Roy 5/03 1:42pm

This Happened

(Photo: Tumblr)

Girl Dresses Her Calculator in a Cute Lil’ Tux and Takes It to Prom

What do you do when the prom is swiftly approaching and no one has asked you yet? You could subtweet adults or lock yourself in your room with Coheed and Cambria on repeat, or you could choose to go all Beyonce on their asses. One enterprising Tumblr user decided to own her singleness, and instead of taking a cootie-covered boy to the school prom, she opted for a futuristic approach: taking her TI-84 calculator as her date. Read More

By Kelly Faircloth 4/24 10:41am

I'll Tumbl For You

He's staring at a large pile of money, shimmering in the distance like an oasis.

Tumblr Reportedly Plans to Talk COO/Babysitter Candidates at Today’s Board Meeting

Sounds like it’s a big day for the little GIF engine that could. Business Insider reports that Tumblr has a board meeting this afternoon. On the agenda: sorting through COO candidates, plus a chat about revenue and maybe even hitting up the VC ATM for more investment.

Business Insider reports there are two final candidates in the running for the position of COO, and board member Roelof Botha is meeting with one of them this morning so the team can discuss. For what it’s worth, Mr. Botha: seems like almost anyone who considers profitability an important metric would be a valuable addition. Read More

By Kelly Faircloth 4/22 1:30pm

I'll Tumbl For You

Screenshot_2013-04-22-13-07-44

Tumblr Debuts Mobile Ads, Allowing Brands to Buy Their Way Into the Dashboard

Fire up your Tumblr mobile app this afternoon, and you’ll notice something new in the river of posts flowing through your dashboard. Scroll through and for the first time, you’ll see advertising mixed in with the #RHOA GIFs and nail art.

Ad Age reports that starting today, the profit-seeking startup is rolling out sponsored posts in the prime real estate of users’ streams, though only on mobile apps. Launch partners include G.E., Warner Bros. and ABC, and at most you’ll see four per day, identified with a little dollar sign. Read More

By Nitasha Tiku 4/19 10:45am

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Storyboard Speaks: Laid-Off Tumblr Staffers Discuss David Karp’s Decision

Earlier this week, Tumblr CEO David Karp took the stage at PaidContent Live for a panel called “Tumblr and the Future of Media.” It was a poignant title considering that one of the topics discussed was Mr. Karp’s recent, rather brusque blog post announcing the end of Storyboard, a high-profile editorial experiment that hired journalists to write features or film documentary video about Tumblr’s community of “creators.”

For example, this Storyboard piece about a photojournalist documenting a gang truce in El Salvador (on his Tumblr) was published by Mother Jones. One about activists and feminists using nail art (and the growing subculture on Tumblr) was produced in partnership with the Daily Beast. Read More

By Jordan Valinsky 4/17 12:35pm

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Man with the plan? (Photo: Twitter/SuccessMag)

Tumblr’s David Karp Apparently Doesn’t Consider Profitability a Particularly Important Metric

When you’re as stylish as Tumblr CEO David Karp, who needs to sweat the small stuff? Case in point: his company’s profitability. During an interview at a conference hosted by paidContent, he informed the audience that Tumblr isn’t making money—but it’s “not a metric that is particularly important to us.”

But don’t panic, investors: Mr. Karp added that the company will “absolutely” become profitable, eventually. At some point. Read More

By Kelly Faircloth 4/11 6:45pm

I'll Tumbl For You

Probably not the key to a new castle on the moon. (via)

And Here is Tumblr’s New L.A. Office Space. Time to Sell Some Ads!

Well, well: Looks like even as Tumblr was shuttering Storyboard, the company was getting ready to begin another chapter on the sunny West Coast. Yesterday, the company’s head of sales, Lee Brown, posted several photos of an unfurnished building.

“Tumblr LA office open!!!” he captioned it. It looks just like every startup space in Soho–except for the rays, of course.

Smack in the center of the lead photo, holding up a key, is wunderkind CEO David Karp. It doesn’t seem like Mr. Karp lingered to answer questions from employees re: what was up with that Storyboard shutdown. Read More

By Kelly Faircloth 4/09 10:20pm

I'll Tumbl For You

He's staring at a large pile of money, shimmering in the distance like an oasis.

Tumblr Kills Storyboard; Editorial Employees Will Be ‘Moving On’

We’ve seen some late-afternoon news dumps, but this takes the cake: Tumblr CEO David Karp just announced that the company is shutting down Storyboard, the editorial experiment meant to highlight the work of the social network’s much-touted “creators.”

Even though Tumblr “couldn’t be happier with our team’s effort,” Mr. Karp wrote that, “What we’ve accomplished with Storyboard has run its course for now.” The editorial team “will be closing up shop and moving on.”

“I want to personally thank them for their great work. And please join us in wishing them well,” he added. Read More