#alogrithms

[syntax-minds]

Can I learn AI without coding?

Yes, you can learn AI without coding! While coding is an important skill for advanced AI work, there are several ways you can understand AI concepts and use AI tools without writing code yourself. Here's how:

1. AI Concepts and Theory

You can start by learning the foundational concepts of AI, such as:

Machine Learning: Understanding the basics of supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning.

Neural Networks: Learning how deep learning works without diving into coding.

Natural Language Processing (NLP): How machines understand human language.

Computer Vision: How machines recognize and interpret images.

You can learn these concepts through courses, books, and videos that focus on the theory and practical applications of AI without needing to code.

2. No-Code AI Tools

Several platforms allow you to build AI models using simple drag-and-drop interfaces:

Teachable Machine: A Google tool that lets you train a model with images, sounds, or poses without coding.

RunwayML: A creative toolkit for artists and designers to use AI with minimal technical skills.

Lobe: A Microsoft tool that lets you train machine learning models easily.

BigML: Provides a no-code environment to build and deploy machine learning models.

These tools are user-friendly and focus on helping you understand AI through a visual and practical approach.

3. AI in Everyday Tools

Many AI-powered tools today are designed for users with no coding experience:

Chatbots (e.g., ChatGPT): You can interact with AI systems like this one to explore language models.

Image Recognition: AI-driven apps such as Google Lens allow you to use AI without coding.

Data Analytics Tools: Many analytics platforms like Tableau or Power BI have built-in AI features that analyze data with minimal technical knowledge.

4. Courses and Learning Platforms

There are courses designed for non-technical learners, which focus on teaching AI concepts and applications. Platforms like Coursera, edX, and Udemy offer courses in AI that require little or no coding, such as:

AI for Everyone by Andrew Ng on Coursera (no coding required).

Introduction to Artificial Intelligence (AI) by IBM on edX.

5. AI Ethics and Applications

You can focus on the societal, ethical, and business aspects of AI. AI is increasingly influencing industries, and having a strong understanding of its implications, potential, and limitations is valuable. Learning about the ethical considerations, biases, and privacy concerns of AI doesn't require coding but gives you insight into the broader picture.

Conclusion

While coding is essential for a deep dive into AI development, you can start learning AI concepts, use AI tools, and explore its applications without writing code. Whether you're interested in the theory, tools, or ethical issues, there are plenty of resources available that don't require programming skills.

Syntax Minds is a training institute located in the Hyderabad. The institute provides various technical courses, typically focusing on software development, web design, and digital marketing. Their curriculum often includes subjects like Java, Python, Full Stack Development, Data Science, Machine Learning, Angular JS , React JS and other tech-related fields.

For the most accurate and up-to-date information, I recommend checking their official website or contacting them directly for details on courses, fees, batch timings, and admission procedures.

If you'd like help with more specific queries about their offerings or services, feel free to ask!

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Reverse engineers bust sleazy gig work platform

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/11/23/hack-the-class-war/#robo-boss

A COMPUTER CAN NEVER BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE

THEREFORE A COMPUTER MUST NEVER MAKE A MANAGEMENT DECISION

Supposedly, these lines were included in a 1979 internal presentation at IBM; screenshots of them routinely go viral:

https://twitter.com/SwiftOnSecurity/status/1385565737167724545?lang=en

The reason for their newfound popularity is obvious: the rise and rise of algorithmic management tools, in which your boss is an app. That IBM slide is right: turning an app into your boss allows your actual boss to create an "accountability sink" in which there is no obvious way to blame a human or even a company for your maltreatment:

https://profilebooks.com/work/the-unaccountability-machine/

App-based management-by-bossware treats the bug identified by the unknown author of that IBM slide into a feature. When an app is your boss, it can force you to scab:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/30/computer-says-scab/#instawork

Or it can steal your wages:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/12/algorithmic-wage-discrimination/#fishers-of-men

But tech giveth and tech taketh away. Digital technology is infinitely flexible: the program that spies on you can be defeated by another program that defeats spying. Every time your algorithmic boss hacks you, you can hack your boss back:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/02/not-what-it-does/#who-it-does-it-to

Technologists and labor organizers need one another. Even the most precarious and abused workers can team up with hackers to disenshittify their robo-bosses:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/07/08/tuyul-apps/#gojek

For every abuse technology brings to the workplace, there is a liberating use of technology that workers unleash by seizing the means of computation:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/13/solidarity-forever/#tech-unions

One tech-savvy group on the cutting edge of dismantling the Torment Nexus is Algorithms Exposed, a tiny, scrappy group of EU hacker/academics who recruit volunteers to reverse engineer and modify the algorithms that rule our lives as workers and as customers:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/10/e2e/#the-censors-pen

Algorithms Exposed have an admirable supply of seemingly boundless energy. Every time I check in with them, I learn that they've spun out yet another special-purpose subgroup. Today, I learned about Reversing Works, a hacking team that reverse engineers gig work apps, revealing corporate wrongdoing that leads to multimillion euro fines for especially sleazy companies.

One such company is Foodinho, an Italian subsidiary of the Spanish food delivery company Glovo. Foodinho/Glovo has been in the crosshairs of Italian labor enforcers since before the pandemic, racking up millions in fines – first for failing to file the proper privacy paperwork disclosing the nature of the data processing in the app that Foodinho riders use to book jobs. Then, after the Italian data commission investigated Foodinho, the company attracted new, much larger fines for its out-of-control surveillance conduct.

As all of this was underway, Reversing Works was conducting its own research into Glovo/Foodinho's app, running it on a simulated Android handset inside a PC so they could peer into app's data collection and processing. They discovered a nightmarish world of pervasive, illegal worker surveillance, and published their findings a year ago in November, 2023:

https://www.etui.org/sites/default/files/2023-10/Exercising%20workers%20rights%20in%20algorithmic%20management%20systems_Lessons%20learned%20from%20the%20Glovo-Foodinho%20digital%20labour%20platform%20case_2023.pdf

That report reveals all kinds of extremely illegal behavior. Glovo/Foodinho makes its riders' data accessible across national borders, so Glovo managers outside of Italy can access fine-grained surveillance information and sensitive personal information – a major data protection no-no.

Worse, Glovo's app embeds trackers from a huge number of other tech platforms (for chat, analytics, and more), making it impossible for the company to account for all the ways that its riders' data is collected – again, a requirement under Italian and EU data protection law.

All this data collection continues even when riders have clocked out for the day – its as though your boss followed you home after quitting time and spied on you.

The research also revealed evidence of a secretive worker scoring system that ranked workers based on undisclosed criteria and reserved the best jobs for workers with high scores. This kind of thing is pervasive in algorithmic management, from gig work to Youtube and Tiktok, where performers' videos are routinely suppressed because they crossed some undisclosed line. When an app is your boss, your every paycheck is docked because you violated a policy you're not allowed to know about, because if you knew why your boss was giving you shitty jobs, or refusing to show the video you spent thousands of dollars making to the subscribers who asked to see it, then maybe you could figure out how to keep your boss from detecting your rulebreaking next time.

All this data-collection and processing is bad enough, but what makes it all a thousand times worse is Glovo's data retention policy – they're storing this data on their workers for four years after the worker leaves their employ. That means that mountains of sensitive, potentially ruinous data on gig workers is just lying around, waiting to be stolen by the next hacker that breaks into the company's servers.

Reversing Works's report made quite a splash. A year after its publication, the Italian data protection agency fined Glovo another 5 million euros and ordered them to cut this shit out:

https://reversing.works/posts/2024/11/press-release-reversing.works-investigation-exposes-glovos-data-privacy-violations-marking-a-milestone-for-worker-rights-and-technology-accountability/

As the report points out, Italy is extremely well set up to defend workers' rights from this kind of bossware abuse. Not only do Italian enforcers have all the privacy tools created by the GDPR, the EU's flagship privacy regulation – they also have the benefit of Italy's 1970 Workers' Statute. The Workers Statute is a visionary piece of legislation that protects workers from automated management practices. Combined with later privacy regulation, it gave Italy's data regulators sweeping powers to defend Italian workers, like Glovo's riders.

Italy is also a leader in recognizing gig workers as de facto employees, despite the tissue-thin pretense that adding an app to your employment means that you aren't entitled to any labor protections. In the case of Glovo, the fine-grained surveillance and reputation scoring were deemed proof that Glovo was employer to its riders.

Reversing Works' report is a fascinating read, especially the sections detailing how the researchers recruited a Glovo rider who allowed them to log in to Glovo's platform on their account.

As Reversing Works points out, this bottom-up approach – where apps are subjected to technical analysis – has real potential for labor organizations seeking to protect workers. Their report established multiple grounds on which a union could seek to hold an abusive employer to account.

But this bottom-up approach also holds out the potential for developing direct-action tools that let workers flex their power, by modifying apps, or coordinating their actions to wring concessions out of their bosses.

After all, the whole reason for the gig economy is to slash wage-bills, by transforming workers into contractors, and by eliminating managers in favor of algorithms. This leaves companies extremely vulnerable, because when workers come together to exercise power, their employer can't rely on middle managers to pressure workers, deal with irate customers, or step in to fill the gap themselves:

https://projects.itforchange.net/state-of-big-tech/changing-dynamics-of-labor-and-capital/

Only by seizing the means of computation, workers and organized labor can turn the tables on bossware – both by directly altering the conditions of their employment, and by producing the evidence and tools that regulators can use to force employers to make those alterations permanent.

Image: EFF (modified) https://www.eff.org/files/issues/eu-flag-11_1.png

CC BY 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/

[multiversemittens]

When I think I'm doing better then I see one clip which re-triggers me:

[izupie]

WELCOME BACK, IZUPIE!

THANK YOU !!

I took a long break from tumblr while I got sucked into the never ending algorithm nightmare of Instagram, but I'm Back Babey

[asgunsas]

It was an honour to be invited to AAST's Architectural Engineering and Environmental Design Department in Alexandria. Especially thanks to Prof. Adham Abulnour, Head of the Architecture Department, for allowing us to introduce and share our double session at the Architectural Engineering and Environmental Design Department. Moreover, thanks to Prof. Mohammed Ayoub for introducing us during the double session. #heritage #heritage_building #heritagebuildings #documentation #digitaltechnologies #digital_technologies #photogrammetry #VR #virtualreality #grasshopper #grasshopper3d #rhino3d #revitarchitecture #alogrithm #App #platforms #3dscan #website #methods #HBIM #alexandria_egypt #alexandria #Egypt #AAST (at AAST Alexandria) https://www.instagram.com/p/CpkpMrbMclc/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[hotcupoteckla]

Important tags from @doesnotloveyou about the feedbag content. I just wanna graze on the wild internet, too. Fuck the Ad Council & tax them for the honor.

If we get more votes, I'll make a graph, and do a second poll for different reasons peeps left various sites. Like one of those jousting polls, but with data that @staff might actually read into.

Oh no! Tumblr wants to make more updates!

Here's a poll to tell tumblr why you left your last social media site

[akechidefender]

elon musk must hate me cause the twt alogrithm is DOOKIE

[tsintotwo]

twitter alogrithm got me and suggested this. Reposting from there because I need it in my space. Credit to original recorder.

One confused Tom (Japanese was being spoken).

[the1312daysofchristmas]

we all agree that ocr is good right. we arent demonizing all machine learning. right. we are recognizing that the problem with machine learning as a field is things like coercively and nonconsensually obtained and organized datasets which are biased in curation leading to bias in the alogrithms. right. right?

[ginny-lily]

Am I only sharing this to trick the youtube alogrithm? No, I also want you to watch it, but mainly it’s to trick the algorithm xD

[squirrels-are-sleeping]

COUNTER/Weight 28: A Special Kind of Warmth, Liveblog

Faction game! I love to dread the faction game.

AUSTIN: [Ibex] puts a hand on the old hero’s head. … The press of a button, the flip of a switch, and then a cord pulled from its socket. And there on the bed, Jace Rethal struggles, desperate to feel cool air.

Excuse me, WTF did he do? I'm sure it'll become clear in due time, but for the moment I can't work out if he woke Jace up, or killed him. (ETA: Jace is awake, fine, phew.)

AUSTIN: Minerva does this amazing corporate blast about how important the privacy and security of its consumer citizens are. … [T]hey make it really fashionable to wear a different face that fucks up the alogrithmic read of what all of Petrichor’s face-scan technology is. ... You walk [into a shop], and they’re just like, "Oh, Mr." and then bzzzzt. Just noise. Nothing. It doesn’t know how to read you anymore.

I put to you that fucking up Rigour's ability to match data traces to personal profiles wouldn't be a massive blow.

Scientific management (the gross IRL practice that Rigour is based on, as we've figured out last time) treats people as interchangeable. Not being able to differentiate between them is a feature not a bug. A corporation like Minerva wants to know down to a granular level what somebody likes, so that it can sell to them more effectively. Whereas when you're aspiring to treat people like widgets in the grand machinery of your domain, maybe you want to smooth out the differences between them anyway.

Also, 'consumer citizens' is so spectacularly gross. And sailing straight past this detail adds another layer of existential horror, implying that it's just a normalised, stable part of political discourse, why would anyone even notice it? Nothing to notice here. Fuck Minerva very much.

AUSTIN: [T]he Rapid Evening is not Ibex. The Rapid Evening is not Sokrates. They are not coming to save people. They’re coming to destroy Minerva.

I'm just going to take this casually drawn parallel between Ibex and Sokrates on the basis of their noble intentions, and I'm going to slowly chew on it.

AUSTIN: The Golden Demarchy. So they also want Planetary Seizure here. They want to take over Gemm. Do they have anything on Gemm yet?  SYLVIA: They have a base of influence on Gemm. … And they have a demagogue. AUSTIN: A demagogue on Gemm. Ooo fancy. … What if it was someone who used to be a soldier in the Seventh Sun back when Sokrates was part of the Kingdom fleet?..

This moment, when they decide that the demagogue on Gemm is going to be the ex-soldier, Ariadne, whom Sokrates saved in the Kingdom game, is the faction game at its most thrilling, imo. When they come up with this, it just neatly rearranges canon such that it's impossible to imagine the story any other way. It utterly logical and graceful - but not plotted as much as serendipitously arrived at. I love it so much.

In other news, I'm wondering how Sokrates's PR situation across the Sector is, in places where they don't have a demagogue. Especially in places that are still licking their wounds after the war. Sure, the Demarchy is technically a different state from the old Empire, but that big war, where the rest of the Sector had to beat back Sokrates's parent with sticks, is very recent memory. It seems like, if the Demarchy starts making expansionist moves, everyone would get a little worried.

Mind you, everyone is about to have a big Rigour problem, it'll be a moot point probably.

DRE: Well, Rigour is currently on Ionias… AUSTIN: … You can move it to anywhere within 2 spots of JoyPark. DRE: Oh fuck! AUSTIN: It could be on September if you wanted.  SYLVIA: This just got scary. DRE: Okay. So I'm kind of torn between do I put it on September, because that's where the ground game is going? AUSTIN: Shit! Maybe we can put it on— OHHH NOOO! SYLVIA: OH SHIT! AUSTIN: Oh shit! SYLVIA: Oh shit! SYLVIA: Oh shit!

OH SHIT! Ohhhh no, they've got to do it, right, they've got to put Rigour on September?

AUSTIN: How about— here's the shot … And it's Natalya pulling up the September Institute's HQ on Rigour's scanners. … And it's just that shadow moving slowly toward September in the distance. This is going to be the worst. I'm very excited.

F U C K!!

What did I just say about the faction game rearranging canon in such a way that it's impossible to imagine the story any other way? Of course Rigour is going to September! Of course Rigour was always going to have been going to September?

I am losing! My mind! adksjedfhlaksfh

DRE: It's going to be great when Natalya and Orth get to meet again. SYLVIA: Oh fuck! AUSTIN: It's going to happen. [small moan] Oh, Orth. SYLVIA: I'm not looking forward to that. DRE: Poor Orth! AUSTIN: Oh, precious baby Orth. Fuck. Man. DRE: God, no matter what we do, we just shit on Orth.

Somebody check on Orth!

(Meanwhile, Orth is giving Mako fatherly instructions on how to clean glass surfaces without leaving streaks.)

Okay, deep breath, let's stop freaking out and listen to the rest of this game.

AUSTIN: God, I'm just thinking of the time we were like, "Oh, I guess this faction has a seductress. What's that look like? Uh, what if it's a cool dude named Ibex? Let's talk about that guy. What's that guy? Oh, that guy sounds cool. What's he like?" SYLVIA: Yeah. And now— AUSTIN: And now we have lots of ideas about what he's like. God.

You know what, Ibex is a prime examble of critical worldbuilding in action. They take the stupid, unnecessarily gendered term seductress inherited from the published game, question it, subvert it, and produce, well… THIS GUY.

AUSTIN: In the park at the core of Centralia, a new cadence had taken hold. People laughed. And when the laugh bounced from building to building, it didn't twist. It amplified in joy. As vehicles moved by blasting music through the park and the streets, the songs took the architecture into themselves so that each note was performed at a new venue, an intimate stage.

!! This is just fucking beautiful writing, that's all.

AUSTIN: I remember that it was warm that day, a special sort of warm. I remember, because when Ibex pulled away that fake sky … I shivered. And then he saw me, Jace did. And the warmth came back. And people cheered, but I barely remember that. I barely remember the speeches, or the music, or the food, or the dancing, or that night. But I remember the warmth, and even now I hold onto it. One vice, one gift I let myself have. The warmth.

First of all, I can't with how beautiful Austin's narration is.

Also. Is this?.. Am I reading into it? Because the way Austin says "…or that night" sounds like it's a stand in for a passionate reunion?

Anyway, I'm dying over here, RIGOUR IS GOING TO SEPTEMBER, and Ibex is just fully in charge on Counterweight, and Jace is awake, and I just…

[skiplo-wave]

Babes… go on YouTube and search Kevin Leonardo and click on “Removing Butt Hairs using Nair Cream”. The video with like 27M views…

Y'all not about fuck up my alogrithm lol

But yes i jeard

Mans had his whole asshole out

[wajb]

thoughts on tumblr’s next steps:

- a good algorithm is necessary for new users. the current new user experience is bad, especially for finding what makes tumblr really valuable (cutting edge posts, thoughtful content). current algorithms are.. it would really help to have these hand selected by people who actually know what’s funny. the algorithm has to be up to date with what’s happening Right Now

- don’t remove multiple of the same reblog in the following feed. it’s not only a beloved part of the current user experience (think mishapocalyse, holding r button to spam mutuals) but it lets users know when a post is very popular among the people you follow + mutuals. notes aren’t a good indicator of what people in your circle find funny/interesting

- when suggesting posts, the top reblog should be suggested as well. often the for you or trending pages will show the origin of a multi-part post, without showing why the post is so popular (a funny reblog or a punchline to the joke). this also demonstrates to new users how reblogs are used

- no tutorials, but a tumblr tips and tricks page might be hepful. the less you start new users off with the more likely they are to stay. nobody likes a long tutorial for things you can figure out by yourself

- engagement options on individual reblogs and replies is good. reactions to replies should definitely be implemented - it follows what people expect from bereal, instagram, discord, and allows for new and exciting interactions

- expand the trending page! swiping to a second page (6-10) or including constantly trending tags (artists on tumblr, meme, etc) would allow for more scrolling and more engagement for smaller creators!

- a huge problem creators talk about is likes vs reblogs. this stems from blog curation- liking the art enough to engage, but not enough to put it on your blog. introducing a solution to this would make current users very happy and increase engagement- sideblogs can be very useful for sharing posts that you don’t want cluttering up your main blog, but the way they currently exist is a hassle. listen to users on this one

- co creation could be really cool. giving users ways to collaborate on blogs/posts could lead to innovative content

- tumblr posts should be able to be embedded as links, but should not notify the original poster. if you want them to know you can tag them

- get a better brand persona. emporium is disliked by many influencial users. i understand it hits a niche, but it helps to be on better terms with the people who’s posts you’re selling

- stay away from live/anything that involves users putting their real faces and indentities out there. tumblr should remain anonymous to stay funny

- logged out experiences: offer up similar blogs to the one they landed on. if they end up making an account, encourage them to follow these blogs. please make the new account experience more seamless. get them to the dashboard as fast as possible, put an alogrithm or trending page in front of them, MAYBE offer an introductory post explaining what makes tumblr unique, but expect them to know the basics of social media. odds are this isn’t their first rodeo

tldr i care about this website and want it to succeed while retaining it’s identity and i think @staff do to

[spoirotlock]

Hi!

Hey tumblr Im Lenva but you guys can call me Len. Im an hobby artist, with interest in alot of different things, like games, cartoons, music and books (and somethimes tv series and animes).

Since Twitter and Instagram are not helping my accounts with all the new alogrithms (maybe beccause I dont post offten) I decided givving tumblr a chance!

If you are reading this, and maybe interested in what I do. thank you!

Here some of my recent art for you guys to have a look in what I do (they are my OCs Aurora and Cétik)

thank you again!!

[thatonegeekygirl]

searched 'nerd' on amazon just for kicks and apparently the alogrithm was designed by a middleschool bully cause i keep seeing just,,,normal glasses

[samwisethewitch]

I actually find Tumblr much easier to use than other social media sites as someone with both ADHD and dyslexia. The Tumblr experience is MUCH easier to navigate for my neurodivergent brain, and it's the same for several other neurodivergent people I've spoken to. While I'm sure this isn't universal, when I talk to other ADHDers and autistic folks, the neurodivergent-friendly nature of Tumblr comes up repeatedly. And a HUGE part of that accessibility is that Tumblr isn't overly reliant on algorithms.

For me and my pool of neurodivergent acquaintances, apps like Twitter and TikTok are overstimulation hell. It's too much being thrown at us all at once, and we have to wade through algorithm-boosted content we don't want to get to the posts we actually care about. It sucks, and it has resulted in several of my friends quitting social media altogether. Personally, I do use Instagram and TikTok, but have to limit my daily exposure. Tumblr is literally the only social I use for more than a few minutes each day.

And regardless of neurodivergence, one thing I love about Tumblr and constantly hear praised by other users is how authentic it feels compared to other social media -- again, largely due to the freedom from algorithms. Because Tumblr is not an alogrithm-based site, people post for their interests instead of posting for the algorithm. As a content creator, there is less pressure to follow trends or cater my content to certain hashtags, and I find that very liberating. I can post what I want to post, and if it does well I know it's because people genuinely liked it, not because I used the right tagging strategy or successfully hopped on a trend. This genuinely makes the user experience way less stressful for me.

Please, please, listen to your users. We do not want more reliance on algorithms.

Tumblr’s Core Product Strategy

Here at Tumblr, we’ve been working hard on reorganizing how we work in a bid to gain more users. A larger user base means a more sustainable company, and means we get to stick around and do this thing with you all a bit longer. What follows is the strategy we're using to accomplish the goal of user growth. The @labs group has published a bit already, but this is bigger. We’re publishing it publicly for the first time, in an effort to work more transparently with all of you in the Tumblr community. This strategy provides guidance amid limited resources, allowing our teams to focus on specific key areas to ensure Tumblr’s future.

The Diagnosis

In order for Tumblr to grow, we need to fix the core experience that makes Tumblr a useful place for users. The underlying problem is that Tumblr is not easy to use. Historically, we have expected users to curate their feeds and lean into curating their experience. But this expectation introduces friction to the user experience and only serves a small portion of our audience. 

Tumblr’s competitive advantage lies in its unique content and vibrant communities. As the forerunner of internet culture, Tumblr encompasses a wide range of interests, such as entertainment, art, gaming, fandom, fashion, and music. People come to Tumblr to immerse themselves in this culture, making it essential for us to ensure a seamless connection between people and content. 

To guarantee Tumblr’s continued success, we’ve got to prioritize fostering that seamless connection between people and content. This involves attracting and retaining new users and creators, nurturing their growth, and encouraging frequent engagement with the platform.

Our Guiding Principles

To enhance Tumblr’s usability, we must address these core guiding principles.

Expand the ways new users can discover and sign up for Tumblr.

Provide high-quality content with every app launch.

Facilitate easier user participation in conversations.

Retain and grow our creator base.

Create patterns that encourage users to keep returning to Tumblr.

Improve the platform’s performance, stability, and quality.

Below is a deep dive into each of these principles.

Principle 1: Expand the ways new users can discover and sign up for Tumblr.

Tumblr has a “top of the funnel” issue in converting non-users into engaged logged-in users. We also have not invested in industry standard SEO practices to ensure a robust top of the funnel. The referral traffic that we do get from external sources is dispersed across different pages with inconsistent user experiences, which results in a missed opportunity to convert these users into regular Tumblr users. For example, users from search engines often land on pages within the blog network and blog view—where there isn’t much of a reason to sign up. 

We need to experiment with logged-out tumblr.com to ensure we are capturing the highest potential conversion rate for visitors into sign-ups and log-ins. We might want to explore showing the potential future user the full breadth of content that Tumblr has to offer on our logged-out pages. We want people to be able to easily understand the potential behind Tumblr without having to navigate multiple tabs and pages to figure it out. Our current logged-out explore page does very little to help users understand “what is Tumblr.” which is a missed opportunity to get people excited about joining the site.

Actions & Next Steps

Improving Tumblr’s search engine optimization (SEO) practices to be in line with industry standards.

Experiment with logged out tumblr.com to achieve the highest conversion rate for sign-ups and log-ins, explore ways for visitors to “get” Tumblr and entice them to sign up.

Principle 2: Provide high-quality content with every app launch.

We need to ensure the highest quality user experience by presenting fresh and relevant content tailored to the user’s diverse interests during each session. If the user has a bad content experience, the fault lies with the product.

The default position should always be that the user does not know how to navigate the application. Additionally, we need to ensure that when people search for content related to their interests, it is easily accessible without any confusing limitations or unexpected roadblocks in their journey.

Being a 15-year-old brand is tough because the brand carries the baggage of a person’s preconceived impressions of Tumblr. On average, a user only sees 25 posts per session, so the first 25 posts have to convey the value of Tumblr: it is a vibrant community with lots of untapped potential. We never want to leave the user believing that Tumblr is a place that is stale and not relevant. 

Actions & Next Steps

Deliver great content each time the app is opened.

Make it easier for users to understand where the vibrant communities on Tumblr are. 

Improve our algorithmic ranking capabilities across all feeds. 

Principle 3: Facilitate easier user participation in conversations.

Part of Tumblr’s charm lies in its capacity to showcase the evolution of conversations and the clever remarks found within reblog chains and replies. Engaging in these discussions should be enjoyable and effortless.

Unfortunately, the current way that conversations work on Tumblr across replies and reblogs is confusing for new users. The limitations around engaging with individual reblogs, replies only applying to the original post, and the inability to easily follow threaded conversations make it difficult for users to join the conversation.

Actions & Next Steps

Address the confusion within replies and reblogs.

Improve the conversational posting features around replies and reblogs. 

Allow engagements on individual replies and reblogs.

Make it easier for users to follow the various conversation paths within a reblog thread. 

Remove clutter in the conversation by collapsing reblog threads. 

Explore the feasibility of removing duplicate reblogs within a user’s Following feed. 

Principle 4: Retain and grow our creator base.

Creators are essential to the Tumblr community. However, we haven’t always had a consistent and coordinated effort around retaining, nurturing, and growing our creator base.  

Being a new creator on Tumblr can be intimidating, with a high likelihood of leaving or disappointment upon sharing creations without receiving engagement or feedback. We need to ensure that we have the expected creator tools and foster the rewarding feedback loops that keep creators around and enable them to thrive.

The lack of feedback stems from the outdated decision to only show content from followed blogs on the main dashboard feed (“Following”), perpetuating a cycle where popular blogs continue to gain more visibility at the expense of helping new creators. To address this, we need to prioritize supporting and nurturing the growth of new creators on the platform.

It is also imperative that creators, like everyone on Tumblr, feel safe and in control of their experience. Whether it be an ask from the community or engagement on a post, being successful on Tumblr should never feel like a punishing experience.

Actions & Next Steps

Get creators’ new content in front of people who are interested in it. 

Improve the feedback loop for creators, incentivizing them to continue posting.

Build mechanisms to protect creators from being spammed by notifications when they go viral.

Expand ways to co-create content, such as by adding the capability to embed Tumblr links in posts.

Principle 5: Create patterns that encourage users to keep returning to Tumblr.

Push notifications and emails are essential tools to increase user engagement, improve user retention, and facilitate content discovery. Our strategy of reaching out to you, the user, should be well-coordinated across product, commercial, and marketing teams.

Our messaging strategy needs to be personalized and adapt to a user’s shifting interests. Our messages should keep users in the know on the latest activity in their community, as well as keeping Tumblr top of mind as the place to go for witty takes and remixes of the latest shows and real-life events.  

Most importantly, our messages should be thoughtful and should never come across as spammy.  

Actions & Next Steps

Conduct an audit of our messaging strategy.

Address the issue of notifications getting too noisy; throttle, collapse or mute notifications where necessary.  

Identify opportunities for personalization within our email messages. 

Test what the right daily push notification limit is. 

Send emails when a user has push notifications switched off.

Principle 6: Performance, stability and quality.

The stability and performance of our mobile apps have declined. There is a large backlog of production issues, with more bugs created than resolved over the last 300 days. If this continues, roughly one new unresolved production issue will be created every two days. Apps and backend systems that work well and don't crash are the foundation of a great Tumblr experience. Improving performance, stability, and quality will help us achieve sustainable operations for Tumblr.

Improve performance and stability: deliver crash-free, responsive, and fast-loading apps on Android, iOS, and web.

Improve quality: deliver the highest quality Tumblr experience to our users. 

Move faster: provide APIs and services to unblock core product initiatives and launch new features coming out of Labs.

Conclusion

Our mission has always been to empower the world’s creators. We are wholly committed to ensuring Tumblr evolves in a way that supports our current users while improving areas that attract new creators, artists, and users. You deserve a digital home that works for you. You deserve the best tools and features to connect with your communities on a platform that prioritizes the easy discoverability of high-quality content. This is an invigorating time for Tumblr, and we couldn’t be more excited about our current strategy.