Tech Joy

Why Tumblr?

Noncomformist. Is that what you’re thinking? Yes, I rejected the recommended blogging tools for this assignment, but I did so with good intentions.

You may not have heard of Tumblr until now, but I believe that Tumblr is a better form of weblog for most people who want to have a presence on the Web.  Why? Because many of us like the idea of sharing our musings, quotes, photos, videos, conversations with others, but don’t want to commit a lot of time to the effort. Traditional blogging tools like WordPress and Blogger, while relatively easy to use, feel too oriented to the written word. They’re great for writers who have something to say and want say it well.  But that’s too intimating and time consuming for many of us.

Tumblr is perfect for those savvy Web 2.0 users who have come to view their lives as an amalgam of digital photos, IM conversations, videos, comments, text messages, etc., and want a quick and dirty way to share all of these forms of communications.  The folks at Tumblr draw this analogy to explain the concept: “If blogs are journals, tumblelogs are scrapbooks.”

While it’s possible to share the same kinds of things on Blogger or Wordpress, Tumblr is distinct form both of this because the presentation is simpler and more visual. Tumblr’s user interface is ridiculously easy to use—so easy that it practically beacons you to add content. Setting up a Tumblr tumblelog takes less than a minute, and you can customize the design and post your first piece of content in under 5 minutes.

Another Tumblr feature is that you can follow other people’s tumblelogs and see who is following yours right from your dashboard. This feature lead to the concept of the “reblog,” where you post content from another tumblelog on your own, adding your own comments. Every post in tumblelogs that you follow has a “reblog” button to the right of the post. One feature that Tumblr lacks is a built-in commenting system, however one is available through a third-party. I plan to add comments to my tumblelog soon so you can let me know what you think.

I hope to convert you all by the end of the semester!