Tumblr launches its interest-focused Communities out of beta

A year after initial tests began, the web blogging site Tumblr, now owned by WordPress.com parent Automattic, is launching its Communities feature out of beta. Communities offer semi-private spaces on Tumblr where people can network around topics of interest, similar to Reddit’s forums known as subreddits or X’s Communities.

The Communities feature first entered public beta this spring offering Tumblr users dedicated feeds that are separate from its existing algorithmic “For You” and chronological “Following” feeds.

The idea is to refocus Tumblr around what it does best: connecting users with their interests. That’s something the company is already well-known for, particularly in areas like its fan communities around TV shows, movies, video games, actors, musicians, and artists, among other things. The Communities feature capitalizes on that built-in demand, letting users organize themselves into groups as broad as liking Taylor Swift or art or as niche as being fans of the “Wicked” book who have not seen the movie or musical.

Tumblr believes the structure of Communities will also give users a better way to find blogs they want to follow and make online collections, compared with more traditional methods like searching topics or following hashtags.

Communities themselves can also be public or private, so users can create large groups or just network with friends. Tumblr will surface Communities at the top of search results and also offer a landing page where users can browse the Communities directly.

At launch, Communities will be available on the web, iOS, and Android.

Since being acquired by Automattic, Tumblr has seen layoffs and restructuring as the site continued to lose money. The company also plans to move its backend to WordPress to make operating the site more efficient.