Tumblr's Social Impact Campaign for the US Election

Social media is one of the best platforms for encouraging people to vote now. We've seen people use Facebook, Twitter, Tinder and now Tumblr. It's hardly a surprise that the micro-blogging platform is getting in on this as politics is something that is regularly discussed on Tumblr.

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Throughout this election, people have frequented the platform to discuss candidates, as well as poke a little fun. Bernie Sanders was popular on there, but the fact that Tumblr's user base is generally younger than sites such as Twitter means less of them were eligible to vote. Now we know who the Democrat and Republican candidates are Tumblr have decided to organise something similar as a service. Their regular AnswerTime sessions will be emulated with IssueTime. Each of these will focus on different issues such as gun violence and LGBTQ+ rights. Professionals from both sides will be called in to discuss these issues and answer any questions. As well as this Tumblr have promised media partnerships and collaborations focused on various initiatives showing the effects of things like climate change. These are going to be where Tumblr excel. It's a very visual service, even with the many writers on there and the best way to get things across will be with graphics and videos.

This was an excellent idea for Tumblr and it's well timed. The majority of Tumblr users are Millennials. These are the people who need to know who to vote for, but might find the traditional question and answer sessions during elections unhelpful or taxing. Tumblr politics tends to be more focused on US politics so this won't even come as a surprise. The only thing is that there are also a lot of teenagers who can't vote on there. Though it is useful for them to be informed and it probably is a positive thing for them to share the word too, Tumblr should be careful not to aim for their work to be aimed at these users nor just the types of people already heavily involved in politics.

Tumblr might not have been a great bet for Yahoo and may seem like a joke to many people, but they slowly seem to be making the right decisions when it comes to running a social media service aimed at a younger audience. It's not perfect and maybe some users can be a little over the top when it comes to social justice, but hopefully, this will educate these users and others as to what the right thing to do is and who they should vote for.

Rosina Brooker

Rosina is a Songbird writer with a degree in Creative Writing. She's trying to focus on her novel on the side but is glad to be playing around with apps and writing about them in the mean time! Follow her @Songbird_Rosina

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