Tumblr is betting big on going small

Online, we need to make the big feel smaller, in the right ways. The challenge to start small from something that is currently controlled by Facebook and Google, is very hard. But people are doing it. Look at The Correspondent, or Open Culture, or Brain Pickings, or thousands of other small projects that have good communities around them. We need m... See more

A renewed interest in human curation, a slow move away from big social, a clearer understanding of platform incentives, the economic feasibility of subscription businesses, and builders driven by a new set of values – combined, it feels like a good time for Internet businesses that are both human-scale and profitable.

The 2000-2020 internet social has been dominated by a handful of players: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram. Yet will it remain exactly as it is ? Most likely no. The Internet Social landscape is undergoing a major change: Decentralization. Momentum is shifting from internet giants to micro-communities.

What lies before us maybe isn’t one main mass migration but a dispersal, a disruption of the hegemony as everyone throws up their hands, shouts “OY!” and heads off to a variety of smaller, more bespoke environments: influencer Discords, celebrity or fandom communities, invite-only groupchats, boutique apps like Cohost and Somewhere Good. Of course,... See more