Verizon has agreed to sell its blogging
platform Tumblr to the parent company of online publishing tool WordPress.
Tumblr will act as a complementary site to WordPress after the acquisition.
Automattic Inc, the parent company of
WordPress, will buy Tumblr and take on its 200 staff members for an undisclosed
amount. Verizon, the current owner of Tumblr, had been searching a buyer for
the social media platform since earlier this year.
Tumblr was once a hugely influential force in
the blogging and social media sphere, but it becomes less so under Yahoo and
then Verizon’s ownership. Meanwhile, platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and
YouTube moved to fill the void and become much larger cultural forces as a
result. Still, Tumblr does have a very active and dedicated community.
Verizon is in the process of revamping its
media group, which struggled to meet revenue targets in recent years. The
business, home to legacy Yahoo and AOL web properties such as HuffPost,
TechCrunch, feminist media brand Makers and celebrity-interview site Build, is
increasingly focused on subscription and original content.
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