By Johanna Campbell & Brent Martin
A blog is defined by Wikipedia as a type of website that is usually maintained by an individual with regular entries with commentary or descriptions of events plus multi-media material such as graphics, pictures or video.
Blogs got their start in the early 1990’s with the creation of running conversations of “threads.” In 1993 Dr. Glen Barry invented blogging with his first blog about a campaign for forest protection. Ever since then blogs have been spreading with the creation of blog tools such has blog host sites and blog search engines.
Blogs can be classified as personal, corporate or question (a blog that answers questions). They can also be classified by the media, device or genre type of blog. The most popular are the personal blogs which are an ongoing diary or commentary by an individual as a way to reflect on life or works of art. New sites, such as Twitter, allow bloggers to share thoughts and feelings instantaneously with friends and family.
Tumblr is a re-envisioning of tumblelogging, a subset of blogging that uses quick, mixed-media posts that combines interconnectivity with creativity. It was founded by David Karp in 2007. Tumblr is a varied string of media ranging from links and text to pictures and videos. Tumblr is for the “most people (who) don’t have the wherewithal to hammer out a 30-minute blog post every night. They just want to brag about what they’re doing and who they’re hanging out with and have an identity online.” (Karp) Tumblr bloggers can “follow” other bloggers (like adding someone as a friend on a social networking site) and then those users’ blogs show up on the person’s dashboard and then the user can re-blog other Tumblr users’ post with just one click.
The interface is so simple that it’s appealing to people who have little technical expertise, but also to people who see Tumblr platform as a blank slate where they can write code for and make their own. Tumblr allows its users to use their own initiative to create the kind of experience they want. “Tumblr kicks ACE! A constant stream of creative conscience...” says user, Matt Brown.
Tumblr has many business opportunities for social networking, corporate/band blogs and Tumblr/iPhone applications. Tumblr is a means of social networking that is “...the most cost-effective way to stay relevant, to help consumers help you build your brand. Generally speaking, the down economy and recession are accelerating social media marketing” according to Reggie Bradford, CEO of Virtue, Inc.
Although Tumblr just started in 2007, it is the next big thing in blogging and social networking.
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