#support financially if you can

[avaantares]

I wrote a long response to a blue-checkmark drama post, but between the time I clicked "reblog" and the time I finished typing, OP apparently turned off reblogs for that post. So GUESS WHAT, y'all get my diatribe anyway. (Sorry; I know most of you aren't the problem. But I did actual math, so I don't want it to go to waste.)

---

The old axiom still applies:

If social media is free to use, it's because YOU are the product.

What that means, for the adage-averse, is this: Sites and services that appear to be fully free to users (Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Google, et al.) are collecting your personal data and selling it to advertisers to pay for the (in some cases) hundreds of millions of dollars it costs to run such sites.

Tumblr doesn't do this. Tumblr hasn't done it, despite a monthly deficit of literally millions of dollars, which is why it's repeatedly been sold at a massive loss to new owners.

To give you actual numbers: Yahoo! acquired Tumblr in 2010 at a cost of $1.1 billion. After taking enormous losses, they later sold it to Verizon for an undisclosed amount. After trying (and failing) for two years to make the site pay for itself, Verizon sold it to Automattic (its current owners) for just $3 million. [Source]

For those who don't math, that means Tumblr's market value dropped by $1,097,000,000 in just nine years, or (averaged out) devalued by approximately $10 million per month. In short, nobody is looking at this as a worthwhile investment to hang onto long-term.

So why didn't it make money for its various owners, despite promising user statistics and a then-unheard-of initial sale price to Yahoo? Precisely because it wasn't leveraging your data to offset its running costs. The algorithm-free advertising format simply isn't viable for a site this big, which requires massive amounts of data storage and bandwidth (all those multimedia options you love cost a fortune on the back end). While there is a modicum of value for companies to hold a loss-generating property for tax purposes (which is pretty much what Verizon did with the site during its ownership), there is a finite period to reap those tax benefits. More relevant to us, if the site's only purpose is to show a loss on paper, there's little incentive for the owner to improve the service or keep its user base happy. We, the users, get thrown under the bus.

So how did Tumblr, under Automattic, try to run as a free site that didn't harvest user data? Tumblr served ads to try to generate revenue. But users complained about the ads. So Tumblr offered ad-free subscriptions at a very reasonable introductory rate of $3.33/month. But users complained about the subscriptions ("It's always been free! Other sites are free! Capitalism is evil!") and refused to pay. So Tumblr offered post-Blazing and tipping and physical merchandise and a variety of other optional features, most recently dashboard horse games and parody blue checkmarks, and instead of seeing these as a desperate attempt to stop the site from hemorrhaging money opportunity to support their online community, users just keep screaming about the moral failings of corporations that charge money for literally anything and insist that "we must keep this site unprofitable at all costs!"

Guys. Sites like this cost millions of dollars -- sometimes tens of millions -- to maintain each month. With the influx of new users from Twitter and elsewhere, that number is only going to increase as server load and bandwidth increase. And because of its history of losing value on a jaw-dropping scale, there will not be another company waiting to take ownership if Automattic decides to stop throwing money into the blue fires of this hellsite. If Tumblr is unprofitable for long enough, it will shut down. Period.

So either chill the $%#@*& out about the blue checkmarks or whatever, or pony up the monthly subscription fee yourself to help support the site. At the very least, stop attacking those who choose to give something back in exchange for the service they receive. Because they're the only reason this site has lasted as long as it has.

[canisalbus]

i've returned for 2 seconds to tell you that they're not leaving my head. (sort of unrelated but i've been thinking as well. what if vasco died before machete ? what would go down)

.

[sukibenders]

Bridgerton states from season one, through Simon and Lady Danbury, to season two, with the Sharmas, to Queen Charlotte, from the beginning episode to the end spelled out clear as day, that racism exists in this world and many of the characters of colors have been impacted by it in some way. And, supposedly, I'm supposed to believe that Marina, that Kate and Edwina, that they all had more privilege and power than Penelope? No, I don't think so, a lot of things aren't right with that statement.

[jelly-fish-wishes]

Guess what finally came out in HD?

Time to bomb y'all with NOTHING BUT SCREEN CAPS, BABYYY

[lemonhemlock]

I did not get into Game of thrones when it first started airing. In fact, I waited until it was long past it's heyday (around s6 or 7) to check it out because the marketing and the conversation surrounding it misled me into thinking it was nothing more than "grimdark" bullshit. As one famous YouTuber sarcastically called it "hot fantasy that fucks." So, I avoided Martin's work for literal years due to the impression that I got from online reactors and show-only casuals who did as you and a few others have described as his work being fundamentally misinterpreted.

Fortunately, I overcame my hang-ups, purchased the books (even the supplementary material) and fell down an entire rabbit hole of ASOIAF which led me to recognizing that this world he spent decades creating is far more complex than what had been portrayed onscreen. Regardless of the possibility of the books remaining unfinished (which I am fine with, personally), what George has created is a genuine work of art that I imagine took a tremendous amount of time and energy. So, for so many people online to behave like children and throw tantrums because they feel entitled to him (ew) instead of ushering forth more reasonable conversations and legitimate debates about the nature of his situation frankly makes me look at this fandom with a heavy dose of skepticism.

It is truly baffling to hear even professional critics and see articles describing George as being "ungrateful" or "unprofessional" when it has been well-documented just how often authors get locked out of the adaptation process and left to the wayside as consultants. Look at what happened to Rick Riordan and Christopher Paolini! George R.R. Martin is not the only author to have qualms with how a multimillion dollar studio has mishandled his creative work, and to act like he should remain silent just because he's amassed a certain degree of wealth is quite frankly, ridiculous. He shouldn't have to settle down, be grateful, and stay quiet because the greedy corporate executives and their media drones will get offended by actual criticism that could alter the perception of the adaption being revealed as mediocre for having departed from the source material.

TLDR: authors should be allowed to speak up about their art being sacrificed for commercialization.

Thank you so much for this message, anon! This needs to be talked about more, because I don't think a lot of commentators truly understand the vulgar, late-capitalistic sheen that seems to set in and slowly poison any ASOIAF adaptation. It honestly baffles me how quick some members of this fandom are to rush to the defense of, what is essentially (let's not be kidding ourselves here), a cashgrab by a giant corporation to the detriment of the actual artist and the actual creative foundation behind it.

Why else would "MAX" (if that is even their name) make another (or several other) ASOIAF adaptations? Not to stay true to any philosophical aesthetic vision, as it has become more than apparent with Season 2, but to increase shareholder profits by appealing to the lowest common denominator. Even the basic premise has been shifted in order to address popular trends and satisfy the mindless consumer that doesn't want to engage with anything deeper than their favourite tropes, prettily packaged:

from a story about a doomed ouroborous family superimposed on the pitfalls of feudalism, with villainy and heroism to be found on both sides, it has been simplified and reduced to a narrative that exalts white feminism and disqualifies anyone who opposes its girlboss protagonist. This is Sheryl Sandberg's version of Fire and Blood.

Truly, I think Sara Hess did (unintentionally) outline it the best: "civilians don't matter in Game of Thrones". They don't matter in Game of Thrones, but they matter in A Song of Ice and Fire. The entire heart of the series is contained in Septon Maribald's speech. The writers "kind of", must have forgotten, though.

[rogueddie]

Unfriendly reminder that quite a few members of the stranger things cast and crew have been openly supportive of Israel and the murder of thousands of innocent people. A few pr statements to try and appease fans for no reason other than making more money does not change anything!

Do not support stranger things! Cancel your netflix subscription! Do not stream season five! Do not buy official merch!

DO NOT SUPPORT ZIONISM AND THE ONGOING GENOCIDE! FREE PALESTINE!

[cardboardcheese]

check this shit out. breakfast onesie.

okay now that i got ur attention. artists please drop your store links or message them to me privately if u sell kim kitsuragi merch im so serious!!1!1! plleeaasee :-) go crazy!! im begging!!! or drop tip jars if u draw kim a lot hehe

[a-gaime]

Chainsaw man oc who's just Denjis therapist and is a responsible and trustworthy adult who doesn't take advantage of him or his issues and trauma

[bonni]

the thing about intimate partner violence education is that while it is very important, a large portion of victims, especially those who are insecure in themselves and their sense of reality, will see ipv awareness advertisements or educational posts on social media, and find some way in their head to justify why it doesn't apply to them, especially if they deeply love and want to protect their abuser.

I would come onto tumblr and reblog posts about how people who beat their wives/girlfriends were the scum of the earth, but I still thought when my girlfriend did it, it was justified. this is also something I always want to communicate to friends of mine who feel guilty when they find out I was being physically abused, and feel like they should have done something to stop it: you couldn't have done anything, because I didn't want to leave. my abuser actively tried to drive a wedge between me and anyone who could have helped me, and I was too scared and gaslit to stand up for myself. I had to be the one to decide to ask for help, and eventually I did. but it took a really long time, and it took even longer for me to cut my ex off completely. education and peer support are important, and everyone deserves access to them, but they're not always enough.

[dryadgurrl]

Hi all, I hate to shake my little tin can again after having just done so a couple of months ago, but I'm at the end of my rope and at the end of my funds. Full explanation is on the link, short version is that I'm going to have more month at the end of my money come January, and I'm trying to swallow my pride and ask for help before it's an actual emergency.

I do still have my Poshmark closet up mostly plus-size lady type clothes and some other odds and ends (and am going to be posting some more things there after this weekend) and my Ko-Fi shop is open (hoop-knit dice/deck bags and Tarot/Oracle Dice readings) funds from both of those also go towards my bills, but Poshmark fees are insane and Ko-Fi doesn't cover postage the way Poshmark does (for the bags not the readings obvs)

[mueritos]

back to doing art full-time on my patreon! I will be opening commissions shortly as well ^-^ thank u to all of the patrons who have supported me over the years, I could not do art full time without y'all!

(commissions will be opening soon, but free/paid patrons will hear about it first!)

<3

[seagull-scribbles]

'Best man' can’t even tie a bow tie 💒

[kryptonitepizza]

Hearting does not help. You need to reblog and donate if possible! tumblr wont let me update this post so please refer to other posts! I decided that I'd leave this account, since I'm getting overwhelmed. however you may check out these familys and other ones. Keep in mind I wont be active on this account though!

[bawuoooooom]

Hello, I hope you and your family are well. Can you please help me recycle the post on my account? 🌺 And help rescue my family from the war in Gaza? 🙏 Thank you.

https://gofund.me/198b6d57

donate if you can

reblog if you cant

https://gofund.me/198b6d57

@90-ghost @totallynotcensorship @soon-palestine @palestinegenocide @the-secret-garden1

[lopez-richter-fangirl]

I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen a negative funds raised on the tracker before. We’ve got to fucking get it together

This graph is NOT the most accurate because it’s still early and can’t adjust that well for the boosts we tend to get in livestreams so I don’t want it to scare anyone but… they’re currently NOT projected to be likely to hit the goal

I see people talking about being excited for these events, and I have too because I want to be hopeful and I do still believe we can do it, but it will ONLY happen if they reach the goal. Otherwise, they get no money, likely lose money they’ve already had to put into preparing for this season, and suffer a huge setback that means we’re not likely to see anything of this scale from them any time soon if ever