The Network Effect: Tumblr
by Unknown
This week’s post is on how the four types of network effects: Direct, Indirect, Cross-Network and Local Social Influence, are used to add value to Web 2.0 platforms. I will be discussing how Tumblr generates these four network effects to increase their user base as well as adding value to the service and products.
Tumblr
is a microblogging platform owned by Yahoo! Inc where users post multimedia,
text and other content all associated with tags to form a blog. Tumblr users
can also interact with each other through following one another, reblogging,
liking posts and exchange messages through the ‘ask box’. These features, and
many more, encourage the Tumblr community to stay active as they gain followers
while posting more content to the website.
The
Direct Effect is the value of a product or service is increased when the
adoption rate is increased. Tumblr’s value is their user base where the larger
amount of users, the more content which generates reblogs, likes and follows –
which all demonstrates the Network Effect. As Tumblr’s user base grows, content
will be more of quality which will engage more users and make already
registered users want to post more.
The
Indirect Effect is the increase in Tumblr’s user base, there is a potential for
an unplanned product or service to be born. As Tumblr has a very wide array of
user base, it is easy to make money off the blogging website. Users with a
large amount of followers, some as young as 14, are gaining dollars off their personal
Tumblr by selling ad space or monetize with ads from Google AdSense or other
alternatives on their personal blogs.
As
Tumblr’s user base increases, the activity of the website does so as well.
Therefore, a cross-network effect occurs because of added value by a second
service or product. Tumblr reaches people around the world with different
knowledge backgrounds. As for this, the content posted on the website ranging
from architectural layouts, programming codes to photography and even math
equations. This drives activity on the website with such useful content and
provides Tumblr with potential employees for their growing company.
Tumblr is the microblogging and social
networking home to 420 million users where they interact socially through tagged
posts, reblogging and liking. The posts on tumblr can be tagged that will not
disappear unless edited and can be tracked by the 420 million users on the
website. Tumblr also provides the user with an option to create a side blog on
which could be based around one theme that can solely evolve from one tag.
Tumblr’s
numbers are still growing to this day. Have you used Tumblr before? What do you
think?
Hi！ Very interesting topic there. I completely agree with direct network effect activated on Tumblr. It will definitely encourage the user to be active when theres more interactions, then encourage more people to join. thus increasing the value on its platform. I recently learnt about the Network effects as well, yet unfortunately still trying to understand. As you mentioned at the end that theres quite a vast amount of users using, creating some sort of social network, do you think it'll trigger the Local network effects as well？
ReplyDeleteAs i remember my friend recommended me Tumblr in past
Hi Tristan! Thanks for your comment, I really appreciate it. Tumblr is an amazing social platform with many ways to interact with other users and discover users that you haven't even heard of. In my blog post I also talked about the Local network effects that Tumblr as triggered briefly where a post can evolve from one single tag. :)
DeleteHi Michelle,
ReplyDeleteGreat web platform to choose for the network effect topic! Great example of direct effect is the more reblogs circulating through the platform the more popular it'll get.
I also loved how you went to talk about the indirect effect which is a shame that most people don't know their true potential of their tumblr blog.
As for my question, do you think the knowledge of potentially earning money for just reblogging, liking, following would increase the cross-network effect for customers to use the platform?
Hello, thanks for your comment :-) I do agree that Tumblr is a great social platform just based on how many people can see one post through so many users. To answer your question, I do think that reblogging, liking, following would increase the cross-network effect for the users where Tumblr staff is able to reach people with different working backgrounds. For example: a lot of graphic design and photography work is posted up on Tumblr. Staff could easily reach this user and propose he/she with a job within the company. :-)
DeleteDear Michelle
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your blog post. I did not about this platform, thank you for tell me about Tumblr. According to social network competitors’ bar graph, Tumblr has extremely high number of active users. Do you know how do they make users become more actively?? Or do you have any ideas for that?? I think Tumblr has really similar communication functions from Facebook or Twitter from my research. Anyway, thank you for good blog post.
https://aisakaguchi.wordpress.com/
This is link to my blog so if you have a time, please feel free to comment! I hope you enjoy my blog as well.
Thank you.
Hello Ai, thank you for reading and commenting on my blog :-) Tumblr does have a very high number of users and I think this is based on the network effects which I have talked about on my blog post here. However, another contribution to Tumblr's high user number is that the social platform is very diverse and reaches out to a large audience. :-)
DeleteLoved your post. It seems that the platform is much weaker in its indirect network effects compared to the others. Have the owners of Tumblr done a lot to encourage indirect network effects and foster other compatible platforms, such as releasing an API for developers?
ReplyDeleteHi Emma, thanks for taking the time to read my post and commenting :-) I know that there is an existing extension for Tumblr to make it easier to use - XKit. It's basically extra features that benefit the users of Tumblr
DeleteHi Michelle,
ReplyDeleteVery enjoin your post, I never used Tumblr before but I want to try it now, also I agree your point the network effect activated on Tumblr. Tumblr has 420 million users that mean Tumblr try to encourage and attract to increase the value of platform. That is one advantage from Network effects.
Hi Cen, thanks for commenting I really appreciate it! I strongly recommend Tumblr as a social platform because it is versatile in many ways - you can connect with users through text, imagery, videography and many more things. I believe that this social platform as the ability to grow and someday take over Facebook :)
Delete