SUMMARY
This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.
MANILA, Philippines – It’s been another zany year on Tumblr. Rappler does a rundown of some of the biggest events that shook up and re-shaped this popular microblogging website.
Memes of 2013
Tumblr is a place for memes of all kinds to find a home and multiply. Here are a few of the memes that flourished this year:
The Mishapocalypse
On April Fool’s Day, Tumblr was overrun with posts showing the face of one man: Misha Collins, star of fantasy TV show Supernatural. Users posted dozens upon dozens of variations of the actor’s visage, even going as far as to change their display pictures and profile names. This trend got so big that it spilled over to Facebook and Twitter.
Do you love the color of the sky?
The trick of this meme is that it seems to go on and on and on and on and on and on…and on. What starts out as a seemingly innocent color-scheme post directed to artists holds a surprise image at the end of the loooooong journey.
Most users were annoyed at this post but re-blogged it ironically. Thank goodness for keyboard shortcuts J and K that automatically navigate from one post to another.
RhymeZone song lyrics
When you don’t know the next line to a song, make up a phrase that matches and rhymes. This is the philosphy that Tumblr users adapted when they discovered RhymeZone.com and posted song after song of erroneous verses.
Surprise, bitch
Originally taken from Emma Roberts’ scene in American Horror Story, this GIF set has two parts: the first says, “Surprise, bitch,” and the second, “I bet you thought you’d seen the last of me.” The lines have since been attached to various somewhat appropriate images.
Breakout Blogs
Brides throwing cats
Because throwing bouquets are so 2012, edited photos of new brides throwing cats to their wedding guests have become a thing this year.
Hotdog legs
Selfies at the beach are usually comprised of two things: your legs and the beach. “Hotdog legs” is what happens when the angle of the photo just isn’t quite right.
Peyton’s fluffy chicken
Time and again, Tumblr users prove to cyberspace that they are one in standing behind the strangest causes. In this instance, the cause was to get user thatsmoderatelyraven a white Silkie. The deal was that if her post got 500,000 notes, her mother would buy the bird for her. Don’t worry folks, she got her fluffy chicken.
Babblr
For the longest time, Tumblr users have longed for an easier way to chat with their friends-who-live-in-Narnia. This year, their wishes were answered by Babblr, a chat application made just for them.
Yahoo takeover
One of the biggest events on Tumblr this year was when the website was purchased by Yahoo! Many users were dubious about the tech giant’s intentions, but founder David Karp told users not to worry as he and the Tumblr team would still be running the website with as much care as always.
The big layout change of 2013
Change can be uncomfortable. When Tumblr shed its old skin for a more modern one, users were not amused. Whether the functionality of this new layout trumps the old one or not, users just have to get used to it – or find one of those restore cheats.
Activity tab
With the new layout came a mysterious new page called “Activity.” Tumblr users now have a way of tracking the movements on their blog by seeing how many notes their posts have gotten, how many new followers they have, and which followers are their biggest fans.
Tumblr sun for Haiyan
When Typhoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan) struck the Philippines, it didn’t take the Tumblr staff and users too long to respond as a community, all marching under one cyber sun.
Tumblr celebrities
Many personalities were idolized online this year simply because they were who they were. Some of the biggest names moving through the blogosphere were: Jennifer Lawrence, Tom Hiddleston, Benedict Cumberbatch, and John Green.
On that note, who wants to play Make John Green Find The Thing?
Top fandoms of 2013
Tumblr is undoubtedly the HQ for fandoms of all kinds. Here are the most popular (read: crazy) fandoms that have trolled 2013:
SuperWhoLock
The 3 big fandoms of Tumblr all rolled into one massive force: the Supernatural, Doctor Who, and Sherlock trifecta. These fandoms have been through a lot of feels this year, so here’s a hug for everyone!
Hannibal
A new TV series has graced the Tumblr dashboards in the form of Hannibal. There’s just something about this mysterious cannibal and his beloved little Will Graham that made users pledge their allegiance.
Welcome to Night Vale
Welcome to Night Vale is a breakout fandom based on a series of podcasts. Due to the lack of visual aids from the podcast’s creators, fans have taken to hashing out their own interpretations of what Night Vale really looks like.
There you have it, folks! Circa 2013 on Tumblr. But don’t let the length of this article fool you – this list is only the tip of the iceberge that sunk the Titanic. So much more happened on the website and the Tumblr staff have compiled their own Year in Review.
We’re definitely looking forward to what 2014 has in store! – Rappler.com
We couldn’t include everything on this list, so help us complete the year in the Comments section!
Add a comment
How does this make you feel?
There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.