Random Journal Entry: LiveJournal v. Tumblr
I've started on the Tumblr thing, mostly because it's the platform that I have found that contains the most cohesive grouping of fans--other than boards--interested in Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire fandom.
There is certainly a community here on LJ for it as well. In fact, many people link to and from their LJ to their Tumblr and vice versa. Personally, I am a super-Walmart kind of social media user. I really don't like having to switch back and forth between platforms, especially when there are many similarities between them already. This is my dilemma with Tumblr and LJ and also why I won't--unless I am otherwise convinced/impressed--join Dreamwidth.
I am really finding too many similarities between the two, yet each does something better than the other, so I still use both.
LJ is great because it's much, much more stable than Tumblr. It's easy to post, comment; I like the Writer's Block questions, I like that there are communities I can "watch" and I like that it's a good space for photos and .gifs and whatnot.
What I dislike is that there are now so many privileges you have to pay to access, while still being obligated to have advertisements on your account. I also dislike the fact that the "Frank" posts are so damn long and I can't minimize any posts when I am scrolling down the "Friends" page. I also find it's harder to find people/find and audience/or people with similar interests on LJ than on Tumblr. I think this is actually what is making Tumblr increasingly popular.
Tumblr is a creative outlet, which combines Twitter style following and scrolling with blog-ability, .gif and photo-friendly posting, and best of all, allows tag tracking in a much more user-friendly interface than I've seen thus far. I also really like that there is a streamlined dashboard--because let's be real, some people's LJs and Tumblr page designs are hot, illegible messes.
The only problem is...Tumblr is super unstable. To the point of frustration that makes me want to quit it altogether. Granted, it's a fairly new animal, so it is experiencing growing pains, much like Facebook and Youtube and Twitter all did in their early days. But still, it is extremely frustrating, especially when you can't tell whether or not anyone can actually see your post. If not to connect with other people, what is the point of participating in social media?
Another problem is that commenting is disabled and is only possible if you sign up/install a 3rd party platform onto your Tumblr, which your commenters will also have to do, so they may post. This is just ridiculous, I think. Sure, you sometimes have the option to "reply" if you see a post by someone who you are following and who is also following you, and who has enabled the reply option on that particular post...but that reply kind of ends up somewhere in space. I can't see my reply, I don't know if the other person sees my reply, I can't really tell at all if my reply even posted--or maybe that's just me experiencing a glitch? See what I mean? Too much inconsistency.
I think Tumblr, if it can get its shit together, can/will be an awesome tool for social media. It's certainly already developing an extremely dedicated following that is ever-expanding, but it desperately needs to figure out its "Facebook Equation" before it can play with the big boys.
There is certainly a community here on LJ for it as well. In fact, many people link to and from their LJ to their Tumblr and vice versa. Personally, I am a super-Walmart kind of social media user. I really don't like having to switch back and forth between platforms, especially when there are many similarities between them already. This is my dilemma with Tumblr and LJ and also why I won't--unless I am otherwise convinced/impressed--join Dreamwidth.
I am really finding too many similarities between the two, yet each does something better than the other, so I still use both.
LJ is great because it's much, much more stable than Tumblr. It's easy to post, comment; I like the Writer's Block questions, I like that there are communities I can "watch" and I like that it's a good space for photos and .gifs and whatnot.
What I dislike is that there are now so many privileges you have to pay to access, while still being obligated to have advertisements on your account. I also dislike the fact that the "Frank" posts are so damn long and I can't minimize any posts when I am scrolling down the "Friends" page. I also find it's harder to find people/find and audience/or people with similar interests on LJ than on Tumblr. I think this is actually what is making Tumblr increasingly popular.
Tumblr is a creative outlet, which combines Twitter style following and scrolling with blog-ability, .gif and photo-friendly posting, and best of all, allows tag tracking in a much more user-friendly interface than I've seen thus far. I also really like that there is a streamlined dashboard--because let's be real, some people's LJs and Tumblr page designs are hot, illegible messes.
The only problem is...Tumblr is super unstable. To the point of frustration that makes me want to quit it altogether. Granted, it's a fairly new animal, so it is experiencing growing pains, much like Facebook and Youtube and Twitter all did in their early days. But still, it is extremely frustrating, especially when you can't tell whether or not anyone can actually see your post. If not to connect with other people, what is the point of participating in social media?
Another problem is that commenting is disabled and is only possible if you sign up/install a 3rd party platform onto your Tumblr, which your commenters will also have to do, so they may post. This is just ridiculous, I think. Sure, you sometimes have the option to "reply" if you see a post by someone who you are following and who is also following you, and who has enabled the reply option on that particular post...but that reply kind of ends up somewhere in space. I can't see my reply, I don't know if the other person sees my reply, I can't really tell at all if my reply even posted--or maybe that's just me experiencing a glitch? See what I mean? Too much inconsistency.
I think Tumblr, if it can get its shit together, can/will be an awesome tool for social media. It's certainly already developing an extremely dedicated following that is ever-expanding, but it desperately needs to figure out its "Facebook Equation" before it can play with the big boys.