the 3 “X”s problem

we currently have 3 “X”s - “X” itself, threads, and bluesky. we don't need any more “X”s. lilypad aims to be the third tumblr, making tumblr itself, cohost, and lilypad

what is an “X”?

an “X” is characterised by:

  • completely featureless black and white theme, rarely with small amounts of blue

  • owned by a huge corporation who are clearly focused on making large sums of money

  • incoherent or unsearchable branding

these tropes are often made fun of, but inexplicably draw large user bases.

then what makes a tumblr?

a tumblr is characterised by:

  • very distinct and coherent design style and theme

  • user-focused app (themes, content, asks, etc)

  • fun (mascots (see cohost’s eggbug), colour, brand accounts have a personality (see tumblr’s twitter))

conclusion

the world needs more tumblrs. go ahead and start a silly little wasteof clone, there are/were already a few (darflen, postLit). you might learn something new, and you'll definitely feel happier than scrolling the latest “X”.

comments (single view)

it needs some more traits of reddit imo

nothing needs more traits of reddit imo

but would it not need more to be a “child” of reddit?

the only part worth taking was threaded comments

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