3 ms·

Tumblr is more than a blogging platform though, it's a community, much like Twitter. Tumblr is more like Twitter than it is Wordpress. For example, from what I

Tumblr is more than a blogging platform though, it's a community, much like Twitter. Tumblr is more like Twitter than it is Wordpress. For example, from what I've seen this is the "average" tumblr user: http://soporslime.tumblr.com/ http://soporslime.tumblr.com/ That is not a traditional blog, not at all.

TillE 16y ago
That's frightening. I didn't realize Tumblr was the new MySpace for a certain segment of users. I've only ever seen it used either as a pretty traditional blogging platform, or as a place to dump the occasional photo.
grinich 16y ago
Looks a lot like old MySpace.
- deleted 16y ago
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- devtesla 16y ago
  At least the defaults aren't terrible.They are actually kinda nice. There is the freedom to be terrible, and that's fine by me.
thesethings 16y ago
^^ Agreesies w/citricsquid. (Due to the fact that it's highly customizable, Tumblr gets compared to MySpace. But paradoxically, due to the fact that many of its early adopters are wburg hipsters w/great taste, it also has a rep for having excellent design biases. Checkout the default themes. Gorgeous.) But it truly is more like Twitter (or even Facebook) than MySpace due to the fact that it's for publishing (or sharing) content more than pimping a profile. This is very hard to see from "the outside" (where people are more likely to compare it to Wordpress because it's "just a blog"). But what you don't know until you use it, is that more than half the party is inside the system. The Tumblr themes are never even seen because you're experiencing your friends + followers through a Dashboard view. You're Liking, Reblogging (not too unlike retweeting), adding commentary, asking questions (that are hidden on the outside), squeeing over famous followers, etc. Tumblr, like Twitter is a place. You can interact with people w/out asking them to visit your-site-somewhere-else. Unlike Twitter, is has the advantage of also being a destination. That link you're sharing? That essay you wrote? It's all right here, still on the Tumblr. [edit: Businesses see its popularity. Tumblr has as many users as Twitter did two years ago. IBM, The Economist, The Today Show (!?), most Conde Nast magazines, YC start-ups like Convore, high-end hotels... I've seen 'em all on Tumblr.] As for what the original post is about: It's a fair question. Tumblr is easier than WP. But that's not why it's popular. It's the social part. While we wait for our utopian federated, distributed social networks to arrive, these centralized places are pretty great.
nchlswu 16y ago
This is a hugely overlooked point. There's a huge variety of simple blogging tools, but Tumblr's difference is the simplicity combined with the community. The ability to reblog with simplicity is a huge part of their success.

TillE 16y ago

That's frightening. I didn't realize Tumblr was the new MySpace for a certain segment of users. I've only ever seen it used either as a pretty traditional blogging platform, or as a place to dump the occasional photo.

grinich 16y ago

Looks a lot like old MySpace.

deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
devtesla 16y ago
At least the defaults aren't terrible.They are actually kinda nice. There is the freedom to be terrible, and that's fine by me.

thesethings 16y ago

^^ Agreesies w/citricsquid. (Due to the fact that it's highly customizable, Tumblr gets compared to MySpace. But paradoxically, due to the fact that many of its early adopters are wburg hipsters w/great taste, it also has a rep for having excellent design biases. Checkout the default themes. Gorgeous.) But it truly is more like Twitter (or even Facebook) than MySpace due to the fact that it's for publishing (or sharing) content more than pimping a profile. This is very hard to see from "the outside" (where people are more likely to compare it to Wordpress because it's "just a blog"). But what you don't know until you use it, is that more than half the party is inside the system. The Tumblr themes are never even seen because you're experiencing your friends + followers through a Dashboard view. You're Liking, Reblogging (not too unlike retweeting), adding commentary, asking questions (that are hidden on the outside), squeeing over famous followers, etc. Tumblr, like Twitter is a place. You can interact with people w/out asking them to visit your-site-somewhere-else. Unlike Twitter, is has the advantage of also being a destination. That link you're sharing? That essay you wrote? It's all right here, still on the Tumblr. [edit: Businesses see its popularity. Tumblr has as many users as Twitter did two years ago. IBM, The Economist, The Today Show (!?), most Conde Nast magazines, YC start-ups like Convore, high-end hotels... I've seen 'em all on Tumblr.] As for what the original post is about: It's a fair question. Tumblr is easier than WP. But that's not why it's popular. It's the social part. While we wait for our utopian federated, distributed social networks to arrive, these centralized places are pretty great.

nchlswu 16y ago

This is a hugely overlooked point. There's a huge variety of simple blogging tools, but Tumblr's difference is the simplicity combined with the community. The ability to reblog with simplicity is a huge part of their success.