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Tumblr's creative director takes off after Yahoo settles in

Tumblr Creative Director Jacob Bijani, the company's fifth employee, is saying goodbye to the blogging business he joined five years ago. The exit comes less than two weeks after the New York-based service, popular with creatives, agreed to sell itself to Yahoo for $1.1 billion.

"Today was my last day at Tumblr," Bijani said Friday in a post on his personal Tumblr. "I'm so proud of what we've all created together, and it's been a privilege to contribute to something beloved by so many."

The story goes that the early Tumblr … Read more

Tumblr brings in-stream ads to Web dashboard

Tumblr may finally be catching up in the advertising game with the launch of in-stream ads on its Web dashboard.

When Tumblr users scroll through the dashboard on the Web, they'll now see sponsored posts appear alongside posts from blogs they follow, the company said Thursday.

Tumblr started including sponsored posts in users' streams on its mobile applications in April. Like the ads on mobile, users will see up to four sponsored Tumblr stories a day on the desktop that are denoted by an animated dollar sign icon.

The sponsored posts will roll out to all users by the … Read more

Yahoo's big lean into content to fuel growth

One of perennial questions about Yahoo has been, "What is Yahoo." As the pioneering Web brand slid downward, rebuffed Microsoft's generous acquisition offer and was overshadowed by the likes of Google, Facebook, Twitter and Amazon, the question morphed into  "Is the beleaguered Yahoo going to fade away?"

Marissa Mayer, the fifth Yahoo CEO in five years, seems to have a clear view of what Yahoo is, and a plan remove the word "beleaguered" as an adjective preceding its name.

The stock price is up over 70 percent since Mayer took over in … Read more

Yahoo wants to make Flickr 'awesome again'

NEW YORK -- Yahoo on Monday unveiled updates to its Flickr photo-sharing site that the company hopes will make Flickr "awesome again."

Among the changes are a new redesign with larger images, the ability for users to upload full-resolution photos, and 1TB of free storage for all users. Yahoo also launched a redesigned Android app for smartphones and tablets, which goes along with the recently revamped iOS app. The changes are available immediately, an executive said.

"The look and feel here is about photos and being unbounded," CEO Marissa Mayer said Monday. "That's what … Read more

Sony teases PS4 ahead of Xbox reveal

CNET Update gets excited about shapes:

In this episode of Update:

- See how Yahoo gets into the Tumblr spirit after buying the blogging site for $1.1 billion. Brace yourself for more ads while Yahoo looks into ways to profit off Tumblr.

- Squint to guess what Sony is showing in this PlayStation 4 teaser video, posted on the eve of the next Xbox unveiling.

- Hold off on buying a new MacBook Air as speculation builds over a new model.

- Fantasize over future tech with bendable, unbreakable screens.

- Drop some knowledge into Pinterest with Rich Pins … Read more

The 404 1,272: Where Tumblr takes the cake (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Yahoo confirms $1.1B Tumblr buy, promises "not to screw it up."

- WordPress: 72K blog posts exited Tumblr in one hour over Yahoo deal.

- Tumblr CEO David Karp was on the 404 almost five years ago to the date.

- Australian politician sorry for "liking" Facebook photo of teenager's genitals.

- Nintendo claims ownership over gamer fanvids on YouTube.

Bathroom break video: Smooth McGroove sings an a capella cover of the Chemical Plant Zone music from Sonic the Hedgehog 2.… Read more

Young and old: A side-by-side look at Tumblr, Yahoo audiences

Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words.

Yahoo has agreed to acquire 6-year-old blogging powerhouse Tumblr for $1.1 billion. The mammoth deal has sent the Internet into a tizzy, especially since most would have pegged the two companies as unlikely bedfellows just a week ago.

The simplest and most obvious reason for Yahoo's interest in Tumblr can be seen in the chart above, which highlights the dramatically differing demographic profiles for the media portal and the blogging network.

It's a tale of two audiences. Tumblr is a fountain of youth. Yahoo is practically a retirement … Read more

Yahoo quickly gets into the Tumblr spirit

Yahoo's official blog has taken up residency at Tumblr, courtesy of this latest acquisition.

On its Yahoo Yodel page, the company spilled the news about the move not long after it confirmed the $1.1 billion deal to buy Tumblr.

Yodeled Yahoo: "Yay! We're moving! As of today, the Yahoo! official blog is moving to yahoo.tumblr.com. Come on over and check out the new digs!"

Yahoo's first blog on its new Tumblr page fittingly discusses the Tumblr acquisition, with a vow by CEO Marissa Mayer: "We promise not to screw it up.&… Read more

WordPress: 72K blog posts exited Tumblr in 1 hour over Yahoo deal

WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg said his company saw a major uptick in Tumblr defections after news of the $1.1 billion acquisition by Yahoo came to light.

Writing on his personal blog Sunday evening, Mullenweg said that WordPress usually imports 400 to 600 blog posts per hour from Tumblr. After news of the deal surfaced, the number of imported posts jumped to more than 72,000 blog posts in an hour.

Mullenweg updated his own blog post on Monday morning. "Some people are reading too much into the import numbers -- I don't think there will be an … Read more