In a surprising turn of events, Automattic, the company behind WordPress, has announced that its plans to transition Tumblr's backend to WordPress are now "on hold." This revelation came from founder and CEO Matt Mullenweg during a recent episode of Decoder.

Initially, Automattic had aimed to migrate over half a billion Tumblr blogs to WordPress, touting the move as a way to enhance content sharing across platforms. However, Mullenweg now emphasizes a shift in focus: "We want to concentrate on what users truly want and what will be most impactful for them."

Future Prospects Still Bright

Despite the current pause, the vision for a seamless transition hasn’t vanished entirely. Mullenweg expressed his desire to eventually make the migration happen, stating, "I still want to do it; it’s just cleaner. But right now, we’re not working on it.”

Impact on Fediverse Integration

This delay also means that Tumblr content won't be joining the fediverse—an interconnected network of decentralized social platforms—anytime soon. Currently, WordPress.com includes an ActivityPub plug-in, which would allow Tumblr posts to integrate into the fediverse seamlessly. Mullenweg noted that this integration could have been a "free way to get it" and was a key factor in considering the migration.

For now, Mullenweg hinted that if there were significant demand for fediverse features, Automattic might implement those directly into Tumblr’s existing code base instead. So, while the hopes for a WordPress-Tumblr tie-up are on pause, the conversation about enhancing Tumblr’s capabilities is far from over.