DanThornton

Tech, Geekery, Pop Culture, Miscellaneous

Stop complaining about Yahoo buying Tumblr, when the answer is simple…

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It appears that the rumoured deal for Yahoo to purchase Tumblr is pretty much a foregone conclusion, with a suitcase of around $1 billion in cash and the promise the blogging site will remain independent.

Whether or not you feel the deal is good for either party, it’s been accompanied by lots of complains from unhappy Tumblr users who are now worried about the future of the platform and their own blogs.

The answer is simple, and has been for years now.

If you’re at all concerned about the future of your content, don’t put it exclusively on someone’s platform which you have no control over.

Self-hosting isn’t expensive, and isn’t complicated. For a small cost each year, you can quickly and easily buy some hosting space, and install a platform like WordPress with just one click.

And if you’re worried that your hosting provider may be acquired or change direction, there are plenty of alternatives to choose from – and by setting an automated back up on a monthly or weekly basis, you can get a new site up and running in minutes, with the only delay being the time it takes for your domain name to point to your new location.

And there are companies (ahem), who will even help you get set up, configure your backups, analytics, and more, and help you navigate the choices of hosting companies. And the cost for that can be as little as an hour of our time for a simple blog – you even get your choice of a selection of themes which we have already paid for.

Previous employers coming together?

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I couldn’t help thinking it was slightly ironic that Bauer Media has emerged as the frontrunner to buy Absolute Radio, according to recent reports in The Guardian.

After all I spent 8.5 years working for Emap, and then for Bauer Media following the acquisition of the consumer magazines and websites by the German publishers.

And then I left to join my former boss Chris Lawson at Absolute Radio in 2009, not long after the new brand had launched.

I can only presume that the Bauers will be contacting me sometime soon with an offer for TheWayoftheWeb.

Anything I write about any potential purchase would be pure conjecture, but I will say that I’ve worked on brilliant projects with amazing people in both companies, and I’ve never launched so many great things in such as short a period as when I worked at One Golden Square. I’ve also had the pleasure of working with both companies since launching my own business, which has always been enjoyable.