Saturday, February 16, 2013

Microblogging: Learning about Tumblr


Microblogging: Learning about Tumblr

Today, microblogging is a popular social media tool to get your opinions and thoughts out into the world. Microblogging allows you to let your friends or followers know what you are up to, using up to using a limited number of characters.  Friends use microblogging to keep in touch, businesses use it to coordinate meetings and/or expand their brand, and celebrities’ blog about concert dates, tour schedules, etc.

Tumblr is a free microblogging platform and social media-networking site.  Tumblr is very easy for new users and is a great way for users to promote photos, designs, thoughts, etc.  It is a popular site and has a young crowd, but today, companies such as Newsweek and GQ are using it to connect with customers and expand their brand.

Even though I have heard about Tumblr, I have never used it...so I decided to create and account for this course.  Here are a few things that I have learned from it:

While using Tumblr, users can “follow” other users’ blogs, can re-post their comments and give them credit, and can #hashtag keywords and URLs to connect to other similar posts.  By Tumblr having these features, it is easy to spread your blog to get followers.  When you first sign up, you immediately start to build your own microblog by clicking on which #hashtags you are most interested in. Tumblr expands your SEO because even though the URLs are long, there are keywords from the title to make it easier and cleaner.

Tumblr is a great microblogging tool because it allows users to post pictures, links, text, audio and chat.  Compared to twitter, Tumblr lets the user have more freedom on designing their website and choosing the way they want their dashboard to look.  They have pre-picked themes that are available to users including premium themes, free themes, single columns, two columns, three columns, vintage, hi-res, grid, etc.  Many of these themes do have a price, which I think is ridiculous-- why would someone pay $49 to have a specific theme?  But, by having all of these options, it gives the user the freedom to make their platform look as original as possible and make it their own.

Tumblr connects to Facebook and Gmail and users can use these other social media networks to find friends to “follow”.  Tumblr has a page on “People you can follow” and “People you may know”, which is a great way to find other bloggers with related interests.  There is also a page where a user can search the popular #hashtags to see if they want to follow or re-post the blog called the “Explore Page”. Also, taken from Twitter, Tumblr has “status updates/blog” for downtime and/or technology issues. A status blog allows the users to express their thoughts in a short sentence or two, while not worrying about having to post pictures or videos.

Now that you know more about Tumblr and its uses, here are a couple of questions I would like you to answer:

1.     If you use Tumblr, do you recommend this site over other microblogging site? If yes, why? If you do not use Tumblr, do you think that you ever will?
2.     Do you think that Tumblr will connect with more social media sites, other than Facebook? Do you think that they should?

References:

http://searchengineland.com/5-microblogging-sites-that-arent-twitter-23481

www.gurugrounds.com/marketing/social-media-marketing/top-10-microblogging-sites/

http://www.businessinsider.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-tumblr-2012-8?op=1#ixzz2L4ZjSDeL

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2195458,00.asp

4 comments:

  1. Thanks for the info! I don't use it currently but am interested in trying it out.

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  2. Thank you for posting an insightful discussion about Tumblr. What is the address for your Tumblr blog? I would like to check it out and follow you.

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  3. I never had a Tumblr until you were the thought leader and I had the chance to explore it. If a week ago you asked me if I would ever use Tumblr, I would probably say no. It's a lot similar to Twitter and Instagram. I think I would use Tumblr but not to blog because I rarely post anything on my Instagram or Twitter accounts. The only thing I would use Tumblr for is to view images and get ideas for something that I am trying to create. I see Tumblr as a site to get fashion or food display ideas. I also think that Tumblr isn’t as popular when it comes to social media and that can strongly influence each users interaction on Tumblr if not all their friends are using Tumblr.

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  4. I think there is a possibility for Tumblr to connect with other social media sites but it’s only a matter of time. Tumblr is fairly new when you compare it to Facebook and Twitter. I definitely believe that if Tumblr connected with other social media outlets, the popularity and usage will increase. The easiest way to do that is to simply allow users to share their posts in multiple places with one post. I’m sure Tumblr has considered expanding their connections but are finding a unique strategy to do so.

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