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Tumblr has seen quite a few different owners in the past few years. In 2013, the online blogging platform was sold to Yahoo for $1.1 billion in hopes that it’d make the company relevant on the internet once again. That didn’t really work out because Yahoo itself was acquired by Verizon in 2017 . It’s clear that Verizon has never really known what to do with Tumblr. Last year , Verizon banned all pornography and sexually explicit content on Tumblr after finding child pornography on the platform. Critics of the move argue that Verizon could have worked to crack down on the exploitation of minors specifically because Tumblr was pretty well-known for its not-safe-for-work (NSFW) scene. Since the ban, Mashable reported that Tumblr lost almost a third of its users. Now, Verizon is looking to sell Tumblr, according to The Verge — and one company is already expressing interest. In a statement to BuzzFeed News , Corey Price, Vice President of Pornhub, said his company was “extremely...
After banning adult content from its platform, Tumblr is now available in Indonesia, according to KrAsia. Tumblr resurfaced on the App Store earlier this month after its porn ban went into place on December 17. The company started removing adult content from its platform after fears of missing out on users. After being MIA in the App Store for 10 days, Tumblr returned with new Community Guidelines prohibiting hate speech, harm to minors, and adult content. The app now has an algorithm that automatically removes porn and other adult content. Its latest revival in Indonesia highlights success in getting into a market that it once missed out on. Indonesia has strict laws against pornography that apps like WhatsApp and Line have had to comply with in order to remain in the country. According to Reuters , Indonesia has blocked more than 70,000 websites deemed pornographic or extremist. Tumblr’s porn ban has been under fire for removing the content of artists and sex workers, as it served...
Tumblr has returned to the App Store after being removed for graphic content on its platform. Veteran Tumblr users will notice a somewhat cleaner version of the app now that the company has removed pornographic content from the platform after discovering photos of child sexual abuse. Some Tumblr artists and sex workers have criticized the platform for removing their content, as it served as one of the few places where they could post freely. After being MIA for 10 days, Tumblr returned with new Community Guidelines prohibiting hate speech, harm to minors, and adult content. The app now has an algorithm that automatically removes porn and other adult content, but the company still has few wrinkles it has to iron out as the algorithm sometimes reports images that aren’t sexual at all. These changes will go into effect December 17.
Tumblr today announced it will permanently ban “adult content” on its platform starting December 17th, a massive change that will impact the way some communities use the platform. The ban includes “photos, videos, or GIFs that show real-life human genitals or female-presenting nipples, and any illustrations—that depicts sex acts.” “We spent considerable time weighing the pros and cons of expression in the community that includes adult content,” said Tumblr’s CEO Jeff D’Onofrio in a company blog post. “In doing so, it became clear that without this content we have the opportunity to create a place where more people feel comfortable expressing themselves.” The move comes just weeks after the Tumblr app was removed from the iOS Apple App Store due to issues related to child pornography on the platform. In the company blog post, D’Onofrio made it clear the microblogging service has always maintained a zero tolerance policy regarding child pornography. Not included in the ban is content...
There is still optimism surrounding the future of creators amid the looming TikTok ban. This sentiment is felt by Eddie Rizzo, who serves as the VP of marketing at WORTHI, a full-service cultural connections agency on a mission to grow brands and build IP all while amplifying people of color. In 2024, Rizzo managed nearly $1 million in creator partnerships primarily on TikTok for BIPOC creators and clients such as Paramount+, Max, Google, GoFundMe, Amazon, and more. “My mission as the VP of Marketing at WORTHI is to grow and develop the best of the best team of predominantly BIPOC and LGBTQ+ strategists and creatives to deliver impactful work for our clients that’s intrinsically culture-forward from the inside out because we live and breathe culture,” he told AFROTECH™ in an interview. “This aligns with our company’s overall vision of unlocking the business value and cultural impact of historically underestimated communities.” Looking to the current landscape, Rizzo acknowledges the...
Believe it or not, Black culture is mainstream culture, but you wouldn’t know it sometimes by the way we are erased from receiving credit as trendsetters and innovators. In some cases, we are oftentimes disappointed — though not surprised — to see others profiting off of our contributions, but when it came to A’Ziah “Zola” King and her viral Twitter thread-turned-movie, she made sure she was always credited as the originator that sparked the first tweet-inspired feature film (yes, a Black woman did that). In 2015, King took to Twitter for a second time — after originally publishing the story on Tumblr and Twitter before deleting it — to share her wild and dangerous road trip story to Florida with strangers. What came of it was the greatest Twitter story ever told and a film adaptation at A24 that chronicled 148 tweets worth of friendship gone wrong, betrayal, stripping, sex trafficking and unbelievably real-life scenarios. The most important lesson from “Zola” is not the film’s...
Over the past few years, Instagram has slowly developed into an online marketplace for designers and entrepreneurs alike to propel their online businesses. Photo Credit: Instagram The platform has most recently redesigned its home screen to create a shop tab for users to easily navigate the brands they often browse. This new design not only helps fashion business-owners at large, but also the Black women entrepreneurs leading the way for online boutique shops to thrive on such an interactive social platform. Black women figured out the formula to launching successful online fashion brands way before Instagram shop features were invented, and they continue to set the standard for many. Check out the below online brands from some of the top Black women designers in the digital fashion space. Draya Michele – Owner of Mint Swim View this post on Instagram A post shared by Mint Swim (@mintswimusa) Founded by actress and entrepreneur Draya Howard in 2011, LA-based brand Mint Swim is...
Sneaker culture has become a widespread phenomenon in the digital age that was brought to life via the internet. Sneakerheads have existed long before digital media became popularized, but platforms such as Instagram, Tumblr, and others gave them a place to thrive and connect. Though sneaker culture continues to grow and expand through different avenues, one thing remains unchanged — women, especially Black women, are still fighting their way into the “boys club.” “I’ve noticed that Black women, rather than waiting for major corporations to co-sign them, are actually creating their own spaces, platforms and events,” shared Robyn Mowatt — former sneaker columnist/ associate editor at HYPEBAE and current OkayPlayer staff writer. “This means that they’re taking control of their narratives and also making space for the next generation of young women to have ownership of streetwear/sneaker culture on their own terms,” she added. No longer needing approval from the industry’s gatekeepers,...
Instagram is moving toward more family-friendly content with the reduction of inappropriate posts that may not necessarily violate community guidelines. “A sexually suggestive post will still appear in Feed if you follow the account that posts it, but this type of content may not appear for the broader community in Explore or hashtag pages,” Facebook said in a blog post. Instagram currently prohibits a list of sexual content including images of female nipples, intercourse, and genitals. However, the company allows photos of post-mastectomy scarring, women actively breastfeeding, and nudity in photos of paintings and sculptures. The lines are a little blurred when it comes to the type of content Instagram will be policing. Instagram said that it will limit sexually suggestive posts and other content that teeters the line of breaking its rules from being recommended on Explore and hashtag pages. “We use a variety of signals, for example, if an account has recently gone against our...
Art and technology are colliding to bring hope to West Philadelphia. Dreams, Diaspora, and Destiny, an augmented reality mural, incorporates images, sound samples and an app to give audiences a full AR experience. In collaboration with Mural Arts Philadelphia , artists King Britt and Joshua Mays teamed up with local Philadelphia students for the year-long project. “The interactive technology of augmented reality is definitely where a lot of art is going. It’s an immersive experience that can bring the viewer into a whole world,” said Britt. “With this app and music, it takes the whole visual to another level and to have this technology in your pocket is mind-blowing.” Britt, who is originally from Philadelphia, said that the visual representation and legacy of the mural are what makes it so interesting. Britt is a composer, DJ and music curator. “I am Philly to the core,” said Britt, noting that his hometown has largely influenced his work. Mays is an Oakland-based painter and...
Picture it, your Instagram notifications are blowing up and you just think you're POPPIN'. You see 50-leven requests and that follower count is about to reach influencer-status. Then, you see what's causing all the noise is a slew of avatars featuring weave bundles. Pretty much every Instagram user has experienced it at this point. It's so rampant, it's basically an initiation rite into the social media platform. Naturally, many internet users believed Russia to be the culprit behind the weave bots, especially given its reputation targeting for targeting black people on social media . Thus, an investigative report was born, thanks to Broadly . “They’re probably just for-profit spambots,” said Bret Shafer, who tracks internet propaganda at the German Marshall Fund. He did note, though, that black Americans, the apparent targets of the weave accounts, have historically been targets of Russian propaganda. Ben Nimmo, senior fellow for information defense at the Atlantic Council,...
As Instagram hits a milestone during the month of June, acquiring their one billionth user on the free social media app (up 200 million from previous reports), I believe it is also worth mentioning the release of Instagram Lite . The "lite" app, as they call it, is a slimmed down version for Android only. According to Instagram, the release of the slimmed down app targets a specific and weird-worded demographic. In a statement, it was their take on targeting "emerging marketings." Still maintaining its free sign-in feature, the intended demographic described by Instagram is just a fancy way of saying that they are targeting the poverty stricken communities. Often untapped and under-appreciated, I do think the intentions are fair. I also believe the "lite" app is a two prong win for the Facebook owned tech company and for those affected by poverty and other social impaired issues. The original Instagram app on the Android market comes in with a size average of 32 megabytes. The...