While we doubt Tumblr’s new messaging feature will ever replace other instant messaging apps out there, like we said this will be a useful feature especially amongst those who are avid users of the platform. And unlike the Tumblr “Ask” feature, instant messages can not be anonymous.
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It has launched an instant messaging feature across the Android, iOS, and web versions of its service.
This is according to the Tumblr Messaging FAQ which states, “You’ll receive the messaging feature when a friend who has it already messages you, passing it along”. With Tumblr Messaging, conversations will be threaded, and users will be aware of who’s messaging them.
Interestingly, users can limit incoming messages to include just those Tumblr users you actually follow and, as with most social media services, blocked means blocked!
Only 1,500 of Tumblr’s 500 million-plus monthly active users were given access to the messaging feature on Wednesday. For now, you’re limited to text and one-on-one conversations; support for GIFs, images, and group chat is in the works. Once you start chatting, the environment is pretty slick (the empty chat prompt is “say your thing”) and every bit as responsive as Google’s Hangouts (formerly Gchat) or Facebook Messenger. “We thought a lot about the behaviors that are unique to Tumblr and how our users beautifully blend community, content and self-expression”.
The broader rollout will take a few weeks to reach all of the Tumblr user base, the company says. That’s about all there is to it.
Sort of. It had an interblog messaging service called Fan Mail. However, there will be no changes to the way that Asks and Submissions now operate. In a blog post today on its support page, Tumblr notes the ability to chat with others is “on its way” for Web and mobile users.
Tumblr could become much more inviting with more interaction thanks to messaging.
As opposed to Facebook, which connects friends and family from real life over the Internet, Tumblr connects people with similar interests who don’t already know each other. Yahoo Inc., which acquired the company for $1.1 billion in 2013, has also given greater emphasis to the social network.
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The company predicted that the feature will be out to all users by early December.
