Gimme a sec here...

Tumblr is dear to my heart. In 2012 I was introduced to it as a platform to display my work. As many of you know, my work features lots of nudity. While not sexual per se, my work tends to raise eyebrows, so finding place to display or exhibit my work can be a challenge. When I put my first images up back then, the amount of support I received was incredible. I have been a fashion photographer for years, and I would do a shoot, and months later when the images were published, friends or collegues would say they saw it and congratulate me, and that was it. But with Tumblr, suddenly I reached an entirely new audience, and the feedback was instantaneous. It was intoxicating and thrilling. People from all over the world reached out and followed the work I did. As an artist, that level of validation is extremely rare and hard to come by.

That success lead to books, films and a growing audience who continue to support my work, and I am genuinely grateful to Tumblr for the exposure it gave me. So this week’s news is saddening. As everyone scrambles to find alternatives and vents their anger of the situation, in typical Tumblr community fashion, its easy to miss the big picture, as we all bemoan the loss of our “little” ones. 

Look at the news, and follow the money. When Apple decided to deny Tumblr an app in its stores, it set into motion this appearantly suicidal reaction from the “staff” at Tumblr. Everyone is quick to judge the compitancy of Tumblr’s executives, and while those concerns may be valid, the big picture is worth examining. The Far right, which currently seems to have it’s hold on this country, is an easy target for blame, as they thrive in an environment for censure and hippocracy. As we all know, yet rarely acknowlege, conservatives fuel the consumption of porn far more than liberals, as studies show. In countries with repressed populations and few outlets, the seeds of humanity’s worst vice’s are born. But thats another discussion, for another time. Here, in the good old U.S.A. we are diven by the all mighty dollar, more so than any other divine faith or god. Tumblr’ decision to ban adult content has everything to do with that, not some P.R. designed quest for creative inclusion or child protection or any other nonsense.

Tumblr cannot control the content uploaded by a user driven site like this. That means images of child pornography are sometimes slipped in. This is a textbook case of a few bad apples ruining it for everyone else. Unfortunately, it comes with the territory. Since Apple is the Disney of the tech world, allowing a platform such as Tumblr to have access to it’s audience, while being unable to control all of it’s content would make Apple vulnerable to a lot of criticism and might effect it’s bottom line in this environment of over political correctness and lack of common sense judgement. So Tumblr, hoping to repair the situation, over corrects and developes software to detect anything remotely adult. Nudity, sexual situations, everything questionable with be magically washed from it’s ranks. Of course, it can be argued that these type of images built the platform, and that Tumblr is killing its self by incurring the wrath of it’s users. And that may be the case. Only time will tell. If the softwear can detect nudity, shouldn’t it be able to detect children? But I’m no programmer. Nazi websites and racial extremist still flower on Tumblr without any censure, so those views must be more palpitable to Apple. After all, Nazis still need to buy phones, right?

Speaking of Apple, they are currently facing litigation in federal supreme court for monopolizing the app market. With such power, they could control the success of companies trying to reach their audience through apps. Really? You don’t say….  Kind of like what we are seeing here. But there is a bigger picture, something a conspiracy theorist might say has legs: Picture it, Apple destroys Tumblr. Refusing to accept it’s app, Tumblr cleans up it’s act. Thousands of content creators scramble to find a new platform. Lots are out there. Someone, somehwere will create the new “Tumblr”, it’s inevitablity is what keeps silicon valley going. Tumblr destroys itself, the lack of users will devalue the brand and it will be replaced. Maybe by an Apple company. Or maybe by a company purchased by Apple in the future. Thats how monopolys work. That’s how big business works

Hallo Smith

hallosmith : IG