Yahoo Tumblr: The Move ‘Makes Sense As A Content Management-Meets-Curation Platform,’ Says Gartner

Yahoo Tumblr: Yesterday, we talked about Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO)’s purchase of Tumblr for $1.1 billion. While many people are already beginning to speculate about what the search engine company is hoping to accomplish, CEO Marissa Mayer is simply hoping to not “screw it up.”

Here is what Mayer said:

“We promise not to screw it up. Tumblr is incredibly special and has a great thing going. We will operate Tumblr independently. David Karp will remain CEO. The product roadmap, their team, their wit and irreverence will all remain the same as will their mission to empower creators to make their best work and get it in front of the audience they deserve. Yahoo! will help Tumblr get even better, faster.”

With all this in mind, Gartner Research has taken a closer look at the deal between Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) and Tumblr, offering some feedback on what this could lead to in the near future.

If nothing else, this purchase goes a long way in showing that Yahoo is hoping to once again become a major player in the consumer-tech market. It is no secret that Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) has taken a back seat to its competitors over the past few years, including Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG). However, with Tumblr on its side, the once dominant search engine company is hoping to shift power back in its favor.

Allen Weiner, research vice president at Gartner, took a strong look at both companies and has come to the conclusion that content platforms could be what this deal is all about:

“Previous Yahoo execs have always talked about Yahoo’s ‘content buckets’—original, licensed and user generated (i.e. Yahoo Contributor Network) as one of its key strengths, and as a leading vertical content portal for such areas as sports, finance and gossip/celeb news, Tumblr makes sense as a content management-meets-curation platform. Such a move would allow consumers, brands and marketers (i.e. content marketing) to curate Yahoo’s syndicated content (original and licensed) and use those pictures, videos and stories to create personal and professional Tumblr pages. Coke and Campbell’s are just two of countless brands that have created Tumblr sites to showcase their wares and tell their stories to consumers. The content platform plan allows Yahoo a few revenue paths including a freemium service option and a venue for targeted advertising. It also allows Yahoo to get even more mileage out of one of its key “cool” brands—Flickr (another e-less product).”

If you want to read more of what Weiner had to say about Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) you can do so by visiting his blog.

Go big or go home. Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) has gone big and now hopes it will pay off many times over in the near future.

Do you think this was a good move by Yahoo?

Check back here for more updates on Yahoo Tumblr.

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