Tumblr has finally launched its own instant messaging feature

Instant messaging has become an essential feature for social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, so it’s a bit odd that it’s taken Tumblr this long to introduce its own such feature. Earlier this morning, Tumblr announced that it’s going to be launching its first, real instant messaging feature, which has already launched for a handful of users, but will be coming to everyone in the weeks to come.

You’ve asked us for real instant messaging, and now it’s on its way. This means things like threaded conversations – yes! Check out your dashboard for a little smiley balloon icon (if you’re using the app, be sure that you’ve updated to the latest version first). Click it to send a message to anyone. Your recipient will automagically get the messaging feature, along with your witty and uplifting message. Not seeing the new icon? Have no fear, messaging will launch for everybody after a few weeks, giving us time to work out the kinks. Once you have messaging, you’ll notice that fan mail has changed a bit. Old fan mail conversations can keep kicking, but you’ll need to use messaging for initiating outgoing gems.