Almost all of us are aware of the current situation of Twitter. However, if you somehow have not heard of it, I’ll give you some context. Since Elon Musk took over Twitter, it is almost safe to say not a singular good choice has been made to “improve” the platform. Musk had plans to ensure free speech was allowed again on Twitter and monetize the platform by adding a subscription on verification checkmarks, but these plans have proven to be nothing but disastrous.
The changes implemented on Twitter have led to a lot of people leaving the platform and seeking their social connections elsewhere. This is where Tumblr comes in. Tumblr is a microblogging social media website/app that has recently gained some popularity with what the bloggers on the site call “Twitter refugees”.
Moreso, Tumblr has recently been getting more and more traffic, which leads to the website not always functioning fully. An example is that Tumblr crashed because of the influx of new users. Users posts guides for new users on how to navigate the website, such as this post by user alteringduets, while others do their best to repel any Twitter users from joining by “shitposting” and “posting cringe”.
Tumblr users are a bit divided on the influx of users who are coming from Twitter. This has to do with the differences in internet culture on both sites and the fear of Tumblr wanting to become more appealing to brands and celebrities.
The users are not interested in special treatment for anyone. One of the nice features of Tumblr is that it does not display your followers count, and anyone boasting about theirs will quickly get shunned by others. Moreover, verification is not exactly a thing. Everyone on Tumblr is simply someone, more often than not anonymous, who blogs about anything they’d like.
Tumblr itself has many inside jokes, which the website capitalizes on in its monetization strategy. Users can “give crabs” to other users, which causes their dashboard to be flooded by the crab emoji. Or consider their merch, specifically the shoelaces. No, I will not elaborate.
I think the one thing Tumblr users love more than inside jokes is “shitposting” and making fun of celebrities/influencers. So much so, that the website introduced a new feature right after Twitter announced their subscription for verification checkmarks. It is called “The Important Blue Internet Checkmarks” and obviously mocks Twitter’s model of paying for a verification checkmark.
The feature gets you TWO checkmarks right next to your name. Moreover, on the page you buy them, Tumblr explains to you that you do not have to verify your identity and that the two checkmarks obviously show that you are a very important person online. Lastly, it is made clear the marks are not a type of verification, and they may turn into crabs (yes, the crab emoji flood).
Some users are having an absolute field day with trying to see how many checkmarks they can stack behind their blog name.
Tumblr users and the website itself have taken the liberty to make fun of the situation over on Twitter. There are obviously people sympathising with the Twitter users that decide to abandon their platform and move over, since building a new community can take a lot of work, but I think that most people are able to make fun of the disaster over at Twitter. Mostly because many people do dislike Elon Musk, and that is putting it lightly.
My concluding thoughts on the matter are that I think it is just very entertaining to see the effect of the events on Twitter spark an entire website to make fun of it and to see so many Twitter users switching to another platform to avoid any repercussions of Elon Musk’s takeover. Anyways, if you want to see how long it takes for the checkmarks to turn into crabs, just check out Tumblr.
References
Article of We Got This Covered detailing the Tumblr crash: https://wegotthiscovered.com/social-media/twitters-mass-exodus-has-caused-tumblr-to-crash-thanks-to-all-those-jumping-ship/
The post for “Twitter refugees” by alteringduets: https://www.tumblr.com/alteringduets/701233895804370944/ok-some-more-bullshit-for-twitter-refugees-who
The post of Tumblr user EvilMario666: https://evilmario666.tumblr.com/post/700043201632927744/welcome-to-tumblr-twitter-users
Tumblr shop with items that contain inside jokes: https://shop.tumblr.com/shop/
The Tumblr Staff post explaining the new feature: https://staff.tumblr.com/post/700564142648606720/hi-were-introducing-completely-useless-blue
The post of Tumblr user strange-aeons: https://strange-aeons.tumblr.com/post/701302355748077568/i-see-that-we-both-have-4-checkmarks
Thanks for sharing this, I had no idea this was a thing on Tumblr! I’ve been using the platform on and off and it sounds just like the most Tumblr thing, especially because it fits with the “shitposting” culture. But it is pretty clever, making fun of new developments using humor!
Hi, I did not know this was going on with Tumblr as well, but it is very humorous to see. About the checkmarks, I also saw on twitter how people feel scammed about the checkmark since it is not the same as how celebrity checkmarks are. But I am very intrigued to see how it all plays out
I wasn’t aware that users on Twitter felt this way! Pretty interesting indeed when you compare it to the feelings of Tumblr users and their checkmarks.
where twitter and facebook take itself too seriously, tumblr knows it’s a trashcan. one thing to go for tumblr is that what you see is player-generated and not algorithm based which means you can define your own timeline more than anything. no forced elon musk!
exactly! I think that the algorithm Tumblr uses to provide content is way less invasive than other social media nowadays. Users have a lot more “say” in what their feed looks like.
As someone who uses Twitter as well as Tumblr, I absolutely love how Tumblr is bullying Twitter right now. Tumblr’s sheer chaotic energy is just *chef’s kiss* amazing. I just hope that Tumblr won’t become the new Twitter, since Twitter can be… kinda toxic.
Tumblr is where I spent most of my childhood and how I built my eye and taste for fashion; seeing it come up again so often in the past few months has got me feeling really nostalgic. I had no idea about the whole ‘crabs’ or ‘shitposting’ thing though, must’ve been on another corner of the site!