Tumblr search has not worked as search for as long as I’ve used it. (4+ years)

But what many, including myself, have done is use Tumblr search to track/subscribe to topics (tags), rather than individuals. “Cupcakes” “bronies” “architecture.”  Tumblr knows this use-case, and even cultivated it via their Explore page. Tracking tags is fun, and has been a critical discovery tool and a facilitator of community-building on Tumblr.

Until today, you could login to your Dashboard, and at a glance see the new posts from both folks you followed, and notification/inbox-ish number next to each tag you tracked.

But now that’s hidden. We have a search box (one row, regardless of how many tags you track), that does reveal all your “saved searches” (these are less saved searches than subscriptions, as described above), but you need to revisit/click the box repeatedly to get what you previously could get in one glance.

Seeing a lot of unhappy users in the Notes section, all with the exact same complaint.

Anybody have a Chrome extension to recommend?

:(

staff:

Upgraded Tag Search & Tracking

Now featuring auto-complete, thumbnail previews, related tags, and a very clean new interface. Get to them even faster by hitting the “tab” key.

Enjoy!