Automattic, the company behind WordPress, made a major announcement last week that it plans to migrate Tumblr to the WordPress platform. This move is being hailed as one of the largest technical migrations in internet history. The decision comes after Automattic acquired Tumblr in 2019, which was its biggest acquisition at the time.
Matt Mullenweg, the CEO of Automattic, highlighted the alignment between Tumblr and WordPress during the acquisition. He mentioned that both platforms share a similar philosophy and that there were plans for an emerging Tumblr/WordPress plugin and theme ecosystem. Mullenweg also expressed his excitement about the possibility of exploring plugins once Tumblr is integrated with WordPress.
However, after the acquisition, Tumblr faced financial challenges, with an annual expenditure exceeding its earnings by $30 million. The situation worsened after the implementation of a porn ban. Nevertheless, the platform experienced a sudden boost in users following the Twitter Exodus of early 2023, which occurred after Elon Musk acquired the social media site.
In the migration announcement, Automattic clarified that the purpose of the migration is not to change Tumblr into WordPress. Instead, the goal is to run Tumblr’s backend on WordPress while maintaining Tumblr’s unique posting experience and product direction. Automattic assured users that they would not notice any difference from the outside.
Migrating over half a billion blogs from Tumblr to WordPress is no easy task. However, Automattic believes that this move will be mutually beneficial for both platforms. Tumblr will benefit from the collective effort put into the open-source WordPress project, while WordPress will benefit from the tools and creativity invested in Tumblr.
To undertake this ambitious migration project, Automattic is actively seeking experienced PHP programmers. Matt Mullenweg compared the recruitment process to Ernest Shackleton’s ad for his Antarctic expedition, emphasizing the hazardous nature of the project. Interested candidates are encouraged to apply through the website, although no details about remuneration or application deadlines were provided.
The community response to the migration announcement has been largely positive. Matt Mullenweg expressed his excitement about the project on Twitter, while others in the industry made humorous suggestions for a project status blog name. Many individuals hope to see improved capabilities for creating Tumblr themes and block themes in the future.
Industry professionals have also recognized the significance of this migration. Some have referred to it as the ultimate “data liberation” project and speculate about potential overlaps with other projects, such as the Data Liberation project. Others are optimistic about the impact this migration could have on WordPress’s market share, with predictions of it surpassing 60%.
In conclusion, Automattic’s decision to migrate Tumblr to the WordPress platform has generated significant excitement and anticipation. This move, described as one of the largest technical migrations in internet history, is expected to bring benefits to both Tumblr and WordPress. With the recruitment of experienced programmers underway, this ambitious project is set to become a major milestone in the history of these two platforms.
