Young and old: A side-by-side look at Tumblr, Yahoo audiences
The media portal looks like a retirement community when compared with the youthfulness of its acquired friend.
Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words.
Yahoo has agreed to acquire 6-year-old blogging powerhouse Tumblr for $1.1 billion. The mammoth deal has sent the Internet into a tizzy, especially since most would have pegged the two companies as unlikely bedfellows just a week ago.
The simplest and most obvious reason for Yahoo's interest in Tumblr can be seen in the chart above, which highlights the dramatically differing demographic profiles for the media portal and the blogging network.
It's a tale of two audiences. Tumblr is a fountain of youth. Yahoo is practically a retirement community. Specially, a majority of people, or 61 percent, who visited Tumblr properties from Web or mobile in March are 34 or younger, according to analytics firm ComScore. Conversely, 56 percent of Yahoo visitors in March are over the age of 35.
With the $1.1 billion buy, Yahoo chief Marissa Mayer has purchased some much-needed insurance for Yahoo's future.
