Tumblr Communities Out of Beta: A New Way to Connect

Tumblr Officially Launches Communities Feature

Following a year of testing, Tumblr, currently under the ownership of Automattic – the parent company of WordPress.com – is now releasing its Communities feature beyond the beta phase.

What are Tumblr Communities?

Communities provide designated areas within Tumblr for users to connect based on shared interests. This functionality mirrors similar forum-style spaces found on platforms like Reddit (subreddits) and X (formerly Twitter).

Initially introduced in public beta earlier this year, the Communities feature presents Tumblr users with distinct feeds. These feeds operate independently from the platform’s primary algorithmic “For You” and chronological “Following” feeds.

Refocusing on User Interests

The core objective behind Communities is to re-emphasize Tumblr’s strength: facilitating connections centered around user passions.

Tumblr has long been recognized for its thriving communities, particularly within fandoms dedicated to television programs, films, video games, performers, musicians, and visual artists. This new feature leverages this existing demand.

Users can now form groups encompassing broad interests – such as appreciation for Taylor Swift or art – or highly specific niches, like fans of the “Wicked” novel who haven’t experienced the film or stage adaptation.

Improved Discovery and Connection

Tumblr anticipates that Communities will enhance the process of discovering relevant blogs to follow and curating online collections.

This represents an improvement over conventional methods like topic searches or hashtag tracking.

Communities can be configured as either public or private, enabling users to establish expansive groups or maintain connections with a select circle of friends.

Accessibility and Future Plans

Tumblr will prominently feature Communities in search results and provide a dedicated landing page for direct browsing.

The Communities feature is now accessible across web, iOS, and Android platforms.

Since its acquisition by Automattic, Tumblr has undergone staff reductions and organizational changes as it addressed financial losses.

Furthermore, the company intends to migrate its underlying infrastructure to WordPress, aiming for increased operational efficiency.