Tumblr, the popular blogging software, is a hosted blogging service that enables users to post notes, audio, video, photographs, quotes, links and conversations all in one place. Not a full blogging system like WordPress or MovableType and not a micro-blogging service like Twitter, Tumblr is, I believe, a middle-ground between the two. I believe this to be the next big thing. Here’s why.
Internet users of today are part-taking in a social web, connecting and interacting with other internet users on a global scale. This has caused users to want to write more frequently, letting others know what they are up to via status updates on various social networks. In addition to writing more frequently, users seem to be writing less in many respects. Shorter snippets of content, designed to communicate in as simple a way as possible (140 characters, as a popular example) the message that they are wishing to share. Due to this shortened nature of content, users are also sharing more photographs and content of different types, enabling the same level of communication through an alternate medium.
In addition to the above, various features are become more common-place on social networks, such as a stream of updates by users to which you are connected, as well as status updates and connecting with other users in the first place.
Enter Tumblr.
Tumblr, as mentioned above, enables users to share information of various content types with other users. Reblogging (similar to retweeting on Twitter), a content stream of posts by friends and a custom page theme are all built-in features. Users are able to setup a free Tumblr blog (hosted by Tumblr as well), which can be up and running in under 10 minutes. Tumblr posts can also easily be shared via Twitter at the click of a button.
With new features and updates to the system released on a regular basis, Tumblr is also showing signs of progression.
From a developer’s perspective, the Tumblr API is clean and easy to understand. This enables the reading, writing, updating and general management of one’s Tumblr blog from an outside resource, such as your WordPress blog.
Therefore, in conclusion, if you want to write and don’t need a huge blog (or don’t know how/want to go through the process of setting one up), get yourself a Tumblr blog. After all, it’s the next big thing.
Leave a Reply