Science & Tech
Liam O'Dell
Nov 11, 2022
CoverVideo
After Twitter decided to open up its coveted blue checkmark to anyone who can afford to shell out $8 a month for the privilege, another popular social media platform – Tumblr – has decided to join in the fun, in its own special way.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk took over Twitter last month, in a controversial decision which has seen the mass firing of employees and verified accounts being split into those who are “notable” individuals and users subscribed to the paid subscription offer, Twitter Blue.
It’s the latter which staff at the micro-blogging site Tumblr have chosen to ridicule with their latest feature announcement, which looks set to go one better than Twitter by offering two checkmarks for $7.99.
Because, they say, “you can never be too important on the internet”.
A description of the offer reads: “We’re introducing Important Blue Internet Checkmarks here on Tumblr. They’re a steal at $7.99 – that’s cheaper than some other places, when you consider that you get not one but TWO checkmarks for your blog on web only (for now).
“Why, you ask? Why not? Nothing matters!”
Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter
Now we don’t know about you, but we’re here for the cynicism.
It gets better, as a separate page containing further information about the ‘Important Blue Internet Checkmarks’ boasts there’s “no need to call” and you can secure the “coveted status symbol” without “having to be verified by staff”.
A disclaimer adds: “This is not a verification status; it’s an Important Blue Internet Checkmark, which in 2022 is just as legit.
“Also the Important Blue Internet Checkmark may turn into a bunch of crabs at any time.”
Unpredictable. We love it.
And it seems we’re not alone:
\u201coh my fucking god you can get a blue checkmark on tumblr now too\u201d— Anna Hollinrake \u26c5 @ Thought Bubble BB67 (@Anna Hollinrake \u26c5 @ Thought Bubble BB67) 1668110428
\u201c@tumblr Hi to whom ever runs this account this is amazing and I\u2019ll be taking 10\u201d— tumblr dot com the website and app (@tumblr dot com the website and app) 1668111418
\u201c@tumblr Just here to send a note to increase the marketing teams salaries as their campaigns are hitting their lapsed demo (i.e. me) perfectly so it can be screen grabbed and sent up to execs \ud83d\udc4c\u201d— tumblr dot com the website and app (@tumblr dot com the website and app) 1668111418
\u201c@tumblr I love you so much tumblr\u201d— tumblr dot com the website and app (@tumblr dot com the website and app) 1668111418
\u201cIM FUCKING DYING. NOT TUMBLR MAKING A BLUE CHECKMARK AS A FUCKING MEME ON TWITTER. IM DYIIIIIINNNNGGG\u201d— K-05 Nadir \ud83c\udf08\ud83c\udf0c\ud83e\udd9d Live2D Vtuber Captain Arc TBA (@K-05 Nadir \ud83c\udf08\ud83c\udf0c\ud83e\udd9d Live2D Vtuber Captain Arc TBA) 1668112985
\u201cgiving elon musk $8 for one blue checkmark: weak\ngiving tumblr $8 for TWO blue checkmarks: HELL yeah\u201d— tobias \ud83c\udf43\ud83c\udf90\ud83c\udf31 !! AFK - working on queue !! (@tobias \ud83c\udf43\ud83c\udf90\ud83c\udf31 !! AFK - working on queue !!) 1668135869
Though if you’re thinking of making a return to Tumblr – be it for the nostalgia or for refuge from the hellsite Twitter could soon become – you might want to be made aware of the latest “cringe” meme taking over the platform.
As a reminder, Tumblr banned nudity in 2018 which saw some users leave the platform in protest. Now that the ban has been reversed four years later, and Twitter is having A Time, people are considering logging back into their dormant accounts, or creating a new one.
Yet those who stuck around post-2018 aren’t too keen on a flood of people flocking to Tumblr, with the fountain of knowledge that is Know Your Meme explaining that “now that Twitter users are poking their noses back into Tumblr, those posters aren’t taking too kindly to deserters and newbies suddenly wanting back on the dark blue website”.
So they’ve deployed the best tactic they can to deter people from joining: cringe.
\u201c@FTate05 Lmao we definitely keeping the rent down on tumblr lmao\u201d— Evil Darkskin Nigga (@Evil Darkskin Nigga) 1667748416
\u201cHere's how Tumblr is currently. They're keeping the rent low\u201d— Tequito \ud83d\udc00 (@Tequito \ud83d\udc00) 1668017788
\u201csimultaneously being on tumblr and twitter and watching ppl on twitter be like "im not moving, tumblr is weird and cringe" vs tumblr users being like "yall keep being weird af, we gotta keep the twitter users off" is an Experience\u201d— hungry\u2122 (@hungry\u2122) 1667853551
\u201cI think the funniest thing right now is that there is an active campaign by tumblr users to make the site seem as cringe and unappealing as possible to keep out twitter folk and now there are tweets talking about how they saw a really cringe post so they don't want to join tumblr\u201d— Stella Joy (@Stella Joy) 1667778523
\u201ctwitter users don\u2019t want to join tumblr because they still think it\u2019s cringe but tumblr users don\u2019t want twitter users to join tumblr because they haven\u2019t evolved to adapt to live with tumblrs broken features like they have. the cycle continues. nobody wins\u201d— KAZ/DIEGO\ud83e\udeb2@ TEAM \ud83d\udd25! (@KAZ/DIEGO\ud83e\udeb2@ TEAM \ud83d\udd25!) 1667755436
Tumblr itself doesn’t seem to mind though, tweeting on Tuesday: “We are cringe. But we are free.”
Touché.
Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
The Conversation (0)
x