So here we have a fun little article, that tells us all about how Yahoo changed tumblrs layout in order to make it a “youtube competitor” and I would be furious if it was any less ridiculous. Marissa Mayer has apparently decided that the original intention of this site, as a blogging platform that has thrived with articles, graphic design and gifs, is no longer going to make her bottom line. And just because she wasn’t able to buy her own video platform to fight youtube with, she must have decided that the only real option was to mold and push this one until all the graphic designers leave and it becomes some sort of video hybrid site that just might make money. This change wasn’t out of buffoonish stupidity, in the way that Karp made updates. This was a corporate move. This is a big fat fuck you to the current user base. This is yahoo saying, “Yeah, we know that you use our website for blogging but…we don’t really care about that.” This is a corporation straight out dictating what young people are supposed to care about, and how they’re supposed to use the online spaces that they have occupied for years. This is just fucking disgraceful.
Please sign this petition and write to tumblr support. This may be a corporate choice, but it’s not one that we have to take quietly.