Studying the impact of innovation on business and society

The Huffington Post Asks Brian Solis How Long Yahoo Can Hold On To Tumblr’s Teens


Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer speaks during a news conference Monday, May 20, 2013, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Bianca Bosker of The Huffington Post asks Brian Solis if he believes Yahoo’s acquisition of Tumblr is a good investment…for teens.

Yet some experts speculate that younger demographics may be more fickle than their parents or older peers. Not only do they have an ever-expanding selection of sites and services from which to choose, but these younger users are “more ambitious in what they explore,” noted Brian Solis, an analyst with Altimeter Group.

“If a site gets stale, millennials start to talk about banishing the network,” said Solis. “If a site starts to feel uncool, it is uncool. It has as much to do with the technology as the culture.”

Tumblr faces the real risk of becoming uncool by virtue of its association with Yahoo, noted Solis, and already some teens are threatening to leave the site.

“Karp has to make a strategic effort every day to protect Tumblr’s culture and evolve its culture so millennials feel like it evolves with them,” said Solis.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *