Apple Should Buy Tumblr

This post is one of several speculative pieces. I think it is important to not settle for status quo and search for opportunities that might have been overlooked. They are also a way to spark discussion in hopes that one day we might come up with a diamond in the rough.

The other day I tweeted that Tumblr was beginning to feel like the Apple of social networks and microblogging platforms.

Then, I started to think about this more and got a little carried away until I arrived at “Apple should buy Tumblr”. Before you kick my teeth out let me explain my logic.

Sharing Content

Tumblr is arguably one of the easiest blogging platforms to share any form of media. Photos, videos, music, and of course text are easily uploaded via your laptop/desktop or mobile device. With Apple’s iLife platform regarded as one of the easiest ways to create, edit, and organize your media the two would compliment each other perfectly.

Yes, Apple does already have a product called iWeb, a glorified WYSIWYG editor, that allows you to upload your content and design your own site. Unfortunately iWeb, like many other WYSIWYGs, have some major pitfalls. When’s the last time you saw a site created with iWeb?

…

Exactly, you can’t remember but it’s really not your fault. iWeb’s background coding is extremely poor and coupled with its lack of a CMS, like that of Wordpress and Tumblr, its sites have awful search engine visibility and are limited in functionality and features. Tumblr’s back end; however, is user friendly and powerful. Users have the ability to create their own themes or use the ones made by the Tumblr community. The HTML markup, though not perfect, is also superior to any WYSIWYG I’ve seen.

The Community

Tumblr users and Apple fan boys are also very similar. The folks over at Tumblr told me that 40% of all traffic comes from an Apple user. Considering Apple have less than 10% market share this is a pretty impressive number. I would venture further to say that active users (as opposed to overall traffic) are even more Mac inclined while the rest are PCs passing by. These are creative individuals who want to create and share their art with the world. I’ve always believed that coupling technology and culture seemlessly can lead to many beautiful things.

Revenue

There are also revenue opportunities to be had with such a partnership. Fred Wilson recently wrote how Tumblr is quickly becoming central for music. Users are sharing songs each day and many artists have embraced the platform as well. couple this with the iTunes store and there is a good opportunity for money to be made. An app-store for themes and applications built off the Tumblr platform seems feasible as well.

A paid model might work considering that hosting an iWeb created site using MobileMe (the only way to do so)(thanks @scottygo) costs $99 a year. If all the other MobileMe functionality is also made available then this pricing seems easier to swallow. However, I’ve longed thought that MobileMe should be an added-value considering the premium paid for an Apple computer but that’s another story.

Finally, Tumblr right now hasn’t really made their revenue models apparent so I don’t think they’d be opposed either. The problem (or the beauty) with too many social platforms these days is that the platform comes first and then at some point people start worrying about money.

The End (Product)

There has been much talk of late regarding Apple entering the social networking scene with increased social features in iTunes 9. I personally cannot see much reason to align with Facebook, Twitter and the likes other than being able to broadcast “now playing” features. However, an Apple and Tumblr combo could be a much more creative and inspiring partnership.

Is Tumblr to Mac, dare I say, as Facebook is to PC?