Tumblr responds to Ask Me Anything by ripping it off

Tumblr has come up with its own version of Reddit’s popular Ask Me Anything (AMA) interview series.

The new feature, called Answer Time, will let users ask anything they want of musicians, actors, activists, and other celebrities, with the replies appearing on the subject’s Tumblr page.

“You’re on Tumblr. You like things on Tumblr. We thought you should meet some people who make the things you like on Tumblr,” says the post announcing Answer Time.

Answer Time — maybe if we keep typing the name, we’ll like it more — already has a few sessions lined up including hip-hop artist Vic Mensa, writer Molly McAleer, Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards, and Tumblr founder David Karp. Users pose their questions ahead of time by heading to a dedicated section of the askee’s Tumblr or official website and then typing their queries into a box labeled … “Ask Me Anything.”

No, really.

That is the key difference between Answer Time and AMA. Reddit’s events are in real time, so it has an unfiltered, live-TV sort of feel to it during which we not only get to see the questions and replies appearing but also the user discussion that arises from them. By fielding input ahead of time, however, Tumblr’s system opens itself up to filtering and closes off the opportunity for real surprises.

It’ll be interesting to see how this all turns out. The first Ask Me Anything Answer Time, featuring rock band Fall Out Boy, will drop June 8.

Evan Killham

Evan Killham is a freelance writer who lives in Nebraska and isn’t interested in football, so he has plenty of time to play and think about video games. He has written for Bitmob and GamesBeat and sometimes, he even goes outside. But not too often because he’s heard there are bees out there. Occasionally, companies send free units for review. Evan subscribes to Cult of Mac’s Reviews Policy and also does not keep the items he receives for possible coverage.