Tumblr's Plunder

 Tumblr, a microblogging/social networking website wrapped up into a streamline platform, has been around since 2007 and give voice to millions of bloggers daily. Tumblr used to flaunt that they were the easiest way to blog, which quickly turned into a platform for so many different walks of people. A large teen audience rants and raves on the site all over the world. But the website is home to practically any sort of blog you could wish to find. Art, music, businesses, you name it; there's probably an "F***yeah..." fan page for it.
Such a website,  has had a fairly surprising advertising policy compared to other social networking sites that it is compared to. Up until 2012 it seems they had a policy that would never include advertising as a focal point of their website. Now however it's a very different story. They now have advertising about ever 10-20 posts. They come with little sponsored stars in the corner (see below for the new movie ad on the right) and are laid in similar to Facebook ad's: masquerading as another post from a normal person's blog. Now tumblr seems to be a mecca for advertising whether we realize it or not.

I've personally had a tumblr for almost 5 years now, and while sometimes I am ashamed at home much time that means I've spent on this website, it has done two things. First, it has document my life in a more interactive and personalized outlet then other social media, and second, it's allowed me to see the progression of the website through these years.
For example, they have a new technique of suggesting blogs which was not a function of tumblr two years ago (see first picture to the right). Now the look at a blog I may like or a similar blog I've checked out and suggest blogs that they think I may be interested in. Very much like the filter bubble suggestion, tumblr is now effective separating the community even more then it was before. Creating a very different atmosphere and feed then of the personally curated ones of the past.

This is not even including covert advertising, some done by fashion blogs and some done by companies and products themselves. While the way information travels through tumblr makes it difficult to immediately see  what the source actually is, one thing is certain: it's largely become just another consumer platform. The covert ads are simply outfits, or jewelry or anything that is shown in an artsy way yet telling you how to dress or what to buy at the same time. These (see below and above to the left) forms of advertising are the most subtle as they are sometimes from the stores and sometimes from the bloggers themselves. Even though they get nothing for advertising, they spend countless hours doing so, for what. For followers and re-blogs.

While I hate to reduce tumblr to such mean and simple terms I do fear that the subtle advertising in our consumer culture has permitted its way into every aspect of our lives it seemed. Even a website that, once upon a time, was simply an outlet for people to express themselves. I'm curious, if this is just my tumblr feed that has been systematically changing, from suggested blogs to ads, or do other users see  this too, and if so what do you think of it?