This document summarizes Tumblr and provides tips for using the blogging platform. It explains that Tumblr allows users to easily share photos, videos, text and other content. It also discusses how to create posts using different media types, engage with other users by liking and reblogging content, and find content through following hashtags and other users. The document concludes by offering best practices like curating rather than solely creating original content and following judiciously to avoid irrelevant posts filling your dashboard.

1. Unwrapping Tumblr
Mykl Novak ~ Marquette University
postmarq.tumblr.com
@myklnovak

2. Overview
I. What is Tumblr?
II. Posting on Tumblr
III. Engaging on Tumblr
IV. Lessons learned

3. $1,000 Jeopardy! clue (aired 12/16/11)

4. I: What is Tumblr?
• “The easiest way to blog.”
• Tumblr makes it effortless to share
anything you find or create.
• Post text, photos, quotes, links,
dialogues, audio, video, slideshows.
tumblr.com/why-tumblr

5. So what’s Tumblr really?
• “...the Lost and Found Department of the
entire Internet.” (Salon.com)
• “...the end of your social life.”
(urbandictionary.com)
• “...the most interesting party you’ve ever been
at. That party could have a political discussion
in the kitchen or people doing keg stands in
the living room, but it’s all about that whole
range of human expression.” (Mark Coatney)

6. Blogging hybrid
longer posts
scheduling
multimedia
pages
followers
tags
timeline
retweets
replies
favorites

7. Undercover Tumblr
“Tumblr has a chameleon quality, since
non-Tumblr users who visit a tumblr
blog see it as a more or less plain-
vanilla blog: they don’t see the social
network behind the scenes... [To] really
experience Tumblr, you have to create
an account and start following
people.” (Stowe Boyd)

8. Tumblelog view
nwkarchivist.tumblr.com

9. Dashboard view

10. What is Tumblr?
tum·blr [tuhm-bler] noun:
Fast, free, easy blogging of
rich media within a
hypervisual, hyperactive
social network.

11. Who’s on Tumblr?
The Comic Sans Project
comicsansproject.tumblr.com

12. Who’s on Tumblr?
clientsfromhell.net

13. Who’s on Tumblr?
Garfield Minus Garfield
garfieldminusgarfield.net

14. Who’s on Tumblr?

15. Demographics
• Top 25 websites in U.S. ranked 23rd by
• 55% female, 45% male
• Attracts ages 18 to 34
• College educated audience
Source: quantcast.com

16. Tumblr vs. others
Source: comScore

17. 15,346,507,389
total posts
39,704,179
total blogs (tumblelogs)
www.tumblr.com/about/

18. II: Posting to Tumblr

19. Quick account sign-up
1. 2. 3. 4.

20. The
Dash
• Read posts
• Post stuff
• Interact

21. 7 types of posts

22. Photo driven
42% of original posts
are photos
Source: mashable.com, 11/14/11

23. Posting a photo
Click Photo

24. Upload a photo
1. Select photo
2. Add caption (optional)
3. Tag it (optional)
4. Post

25. Dashboard result

26. Tumblelog result

27. Photoset

28. GPOY
Gratituitous
Picture
Of
Yourself
(or any image that
metaphorically
describes you)

29. Reaction images
• Exclamation points of Tumblr
• Images or animations
at end of a post
• Express joy, shock,
sadness, laughter, anger,
disgust, excitement or pride

30. Text post
• You can easily add images to text posts
• Use “read more” break for longer posts

31. Quote post
“Be ignited, or
be gone.”
(Mary Oliver)

32. Link post

33. Chat post
Overheard at Brew Cudahy Cafe:
Barista #1: I’m really tired.
Barista #2: You work in a coffee shop.
Do something about it.

34. Audio post
• One audio upload per day
• MP3s only with 10MB limit
• Toll-free number to record

35. Video post
• Embed YouTube or Vimeo by URL
• Upload 5 minutes of video per day
• 100MB max per video file upload

36. Publish options
• Publish now — I mean, right now
• Add to queue — stagger your posts
• Publish on... — schedule your posts
• Save as draft — stockpile your posts
• Private — only for you, when logged in

37. Theme garden

38. III: Engaging on Tumblr
Notes
• Reblog
• Like
• Reply
• Answer

39. Reblog
• Similar to Twitter’s retweet
• Quickly shares what you love on Tumblr
• Creates a copy to your tumblelog
• Allows you to add your own comments
• Attributes to the original author
• Adds to notes on the original post
• Notifies author on dashboard (if set)

40. Reblog a post

41. Like
• Marks what you like from Tumblr
• Similar to Twitter favorites
• Does NOT create a post on your tumblelog
• Adds to Notes on the original post
• Likes may appear in a sidebar or link (if set)
• Notifies author on dashboard (if set)

42. Reply
• Replies are off by default
• Can allow replies from people you follow
• Can allow replies from those following you
for more than two weeks
• Click Reply link on dashboard posts
• For comments, use DISQUS add-on

43. Answer a question
• End a text post or a caption with “?”
• Creates a question post with answer box

44. Submit stuff to others

45. Ask others a question
• Click “ask” link or go to /ask
• 500-character limit
• Only 10 asks per hour
• No web or email addresses

46. Following
• Click follow button in the upper right
• Try Spotlight: http://tumblr.com/spotlight/
• Try Explore: http://tumblr.com/explore/

47. Check archive, likes

48. marquetteu.tumblr.com

49. dearmarquette.tumblr.com

50. marquetteits.tumblr.com

51. postmarq.tumblr.com

52. Tags
• Great way to organize posts
• Surfaces content for others
• When posting, tags on right
• No hash/pound sign needed
• Comma or return after each
• Search tags from dashboard

53. Top 10 tags
1. GIF (animated) 6. Illustration
2. LOL 7. Landscape
3. Fashion 8. Animals
4. Art 9. Food
5. Vintage 10. Film
Source: mashable.com, 11/14/11

54. IV: Lessons learned

55. Tumblr sweet spot
• Visuals/multimedia
• Niche topics

56. What interests students?

58. Creation vs. Curation
• Strike a balance between...
• Creating your original posts
• Curating other’s posts (reblogs)
• Remix or curate...
• Be careful with copyright
• Attribute the source Coach
Buzz
Lightyear

59. Follow judiciously
• Follow accounts that fit your interests
• Initially, I followed all who followed me
• Sometimes led to “dashboard noise”
• Gradually, I unfollowed some accounts

60. Track topics with tags

61. Seedy side of Tumblr
• Spam likes or reblogs (block as spam)
• F-bombs, even on official Tumblr stuff
• F***yeah blogs
• Over the line: click unfollow

62. Tumblr downtime
42.1 hours
downtime
in 2011 for
Tumblr
1.6 hours
downtime
in 2011 for
wordpress.com
Source: pingdom.com

63. Think like a news editor

64. Think like a historian
MU in Cotton Bowl: Jan. 1, 1937 (MU Archives)

65. Think like Hallmark

66. Questions?
postmarq.tumblr.com
@myklnovak