3 ms·

So, no synergies other than ... authentication services? Then what's the point of buying them? Remember, Tumblr is barely making any money and was running out o

by joonix 13y ago

So, no synergies other than ... authentication services? Then what's the point of buying them? Remember, Tumblr is barely making any money and was running out of cash. If Yahoo has nothing to offer them other than "identity management" and bureaucracy, then this is yet another failed Yahoo acquisition.

chiph 13y ago
My (unspoken) assumption is that Yahoo management can successfully monetize Tumblr. Is Tumblr going to continue to bleed dollars? Yes, in the short term. But the Yahoo board is willing to invest 1.1B in them, and obviously think that in the future the Tumblr services will be a complementary product offering and will become profitable. Hopefully Marissa & the board have a roadmap for fixing & growing the firm, and that this wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision. There are other likely synergies - back office functions (accounting, HR, etc), but also ad serving. I don't personally know how good the Yahoo ad network is, but by all accounts, it has got to be better than Tumblr's. I think the key change that has to happen is that acquisitions have to have the choice in picking a Yahoo technology to adopt (or not..) and that it can't be forced down their throat. And if Marissa is smart, she'll block any Yahoo people asking questions like "So, why aren't you using our fabulous tech?", because merely asking the question takes away valuable time.
- mcintyre1994 13y ago
  The great contradiction being that if "Yahoo management" are monetizing Tumblr, it's hardly independent in a strict sense. I know where you're coming from, but it was only last year David admitted he was an idiot to say ads made him sick - he didn't push them very hard and I think that's going to be a tough balance. Oh and Tumblr claimed their roadmap isn't changing, which if true means Yahoo's board's roadmap is irrelevant. It'll be interesting to see how this one plays out.
  - chiph 13y ago
    David was likely approaching the subject from the standpoint of a user -- no one likes ads that are too in-your-face and irrelevant. But as a Division Head (no longer CEO...), he has to ensure that he is profitable. Like I said, I don't know how good Yahoo's ad-serving network is, and hopefully they have a broad & deep enough pool of content to show visitors, so that Tumblr remains a viable publishing platform. Given Marissa's previous stint at Google, I expect her to focus her attention next on their ad-serving. A large & strong revenue stream will keep the board off her back and give her time to fix other things there that need fixing.

by joonix 13y ago

chiph 13y ago

My (unspoken) assumption is that Yahoo management can successfully monetize Tumblr. Is Tumblr going to continue to bleed dollars? Yes, in the short term. But the Yahoo board is willing to invest 1.1B in them, and obviously think that in the future the Tumblr services will be a complementary product offering and will become profitable. Hopefully Marissa & the board have a roadmap for fixing & growing the firm, and that this wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision. There are other likely synergies - back office functions (accounting, HR, etc), but also ad serving. I don't personally know how good the Yahoo ad network is, but by all accounts, it has got to be better than Tumblr's. I think the key change that has to happen is that acquisitions have to have the choice in picking a Yahoo technology to adopt (or not..) and that it can't be forced down their throat. And if Marissa is smart, she'll block any Yahoo people asking questions like "So, why aren't you using our fabulous tech?", because merely asking the question takes away valuable time.

mcintyre1994 13y ago
The great contradiction being that if "Yahoo management" are monetizing Tumblr, it's hardly independent in a strict sense. I know where you're coming from, but it was only last year David admitted he was an idiot to say ads made him sick - he didn't push them very hard and I think that's going to be a tough balance. Oh and Tumblr claimed their roadmap isn't changing, which if true means Yahoo's board's roadmap is irrelevant. It'll be interesting to see how this one plays out.
- chiph 13y ago
  David was likely approaching the subject from the standpoint of a user -- no one likes ads that are too in-your-face and irrelevant. But as a Division Head (no longer CEO...), he has to ensure that he is profitable. Like I said, I don't know how good Yahoo's ad-serving network is, and hopefully they have a broad & deep enough pool of content to show visitors, so that Tumblr remains a viable publishing platform. Given Marissa's previous stint at Google, I expect her to focus her attention next on their ad-serving. A large & strong revenue stream will keep the board off her back and give her time to fix other things there that need fixing.