Why Tumblr?
- Simple drop-dead publishing
- Truly push button posting
- Microblog v. link log v. full fledged blog
- Possible Uses?
- Traditional blog
- Photo blog / portfolio
- Link collector
- Research tool
- Slideshows
More Tumblr Goodness
Brainless accommodation of a variety of different post types
- text
- photo
- Even mini-slideshows!
- Multiple image sizes generated, with ability to link to original size
- link
- quote
- chat
- audio (10MB limit), video (100MB limit)
Yet even more Tumblr pluses
- Complete separation of programming code from presentation markup
- Simple, yet powerful customization and templating
What’s No So Great?
- No option to self-host on server or web host of your choosing
- Subject to Tumblr ToS
- You may be more comfortable and/or fluent with another (micro)?blogging platform
Sign me up!
tumblr.com
The Dashboard
The Bookmarklet
The (Rich)? Text Editor
Or, alternatively…
- Markdown
- HTML
The Queue
Customization and Themes
- Theming
- Free themes v. premium themes
- Some themes have customizable elements, most commonly color, but other options too
- Creating your own? No programming expertise required — all CSS, with simple template tags.
- Automatic favicon generation from uploaded profile image
- RSS
Static Pages?
The Community
- Following and followers
- Likes, reblogs, replies
- “Ask me anything” (“formspring” variant)
- Tumblr Directory
Comments?
- Disqus
Other Goodies
- Can easily setup custom domain use:
The most obvious thing you might want to do customize is the URL. It’s nice of Tumblr to host for you, but if you have your own domain name already, why not use it?
The redirecting trick is pretty easy. Just head to your domain registrar’s control panel and follow the instructions to point the domain’s A-record (IP address) to 72.32.231.8.
Once that propagates (depending on your registrar, up to 72 hours) head back to the Tumblr dashboard and click click Customize. Under the URL settings, select “Use a custom domain name”, and enter your custom domain. Click “Save”, and your Tumblr page should now appear when you visit your own URL.
- Multiple Tumblrs on one account
- Group blog capablity
- Backup your blog (Mac only)
- Auto-share/publish to Facebook/Twitter
- Post by email
- Call in audio
Advanced Tumblr
Questions?
Resources
Some other reading material
- Tumblr’s $25-plus million round
- Self Expression Matters
- Instapaper Founder Marco Arment’s Journey From Bagel Jockey to Publishing Pioneer
- Theme Tumblr Like a Pro
- Tumblr Leaves Competition in the Dust
- In-Depth Review of Tumblr’s Custom Theming Ability
- 5 Tools for Doing More With Tumblr
- Meet Tumblr, Facebook and Twitter’s New Rival
- How to Create a Tumblr Theme
- A Complete Guide to Tumblr
- Spicing Up Your Tumblr Experience
