Tumblr roundup for January
Hi! I'm excited to contribute a monthly summary of the visual rollercoaster that is Tumblr. Each month I hope to share some lovely eye candy from across Tumblrland.
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For those of us who have been on LJ for quite awhile Tumblr is an exciting place to explore. It can also be overwhelming and confusing. Several months ago I began to venture into Tumblr, lured by the visual nature of the site, and as a result I've come to the following conclusion.
They both serve different niches. I'm not giving up LJ for Tumblr. Quite the contrary. I've found that my journeys into Tumblr have actually increased my engagement and activity on LJ. Tumblr sparks my creativity and interest, which I then go to LJ to fully express and share in a more personal and intimate way with my LJ friends.
What is the difference between the two platforms? Here is my summary based on my observations.
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Tumblr :: tumblring, which is to weblogs what text messages are to email - short, to the point, and direct. Easily Collect Every Moment Wherever You Go. (x)
::: in essence :::
``` Full of eye candy. Loaded with images and gifs. You can easily lose hours there. Tumblr's image posting within a post has a neat feature which enables you to post multiple images and select collage-type arrangements that contribute to the "eye-candiness" of the posts (IMO). Tumblrers use this feature in very creative ways.
``` Easy to "reblog" and "like" others' posts. Reblogging is similar to retweeting and Like is similar to FB liking. Tumblr fits right into a sound-bite word of fast and striking. Come, share, and go. No need to slow down and take your time.
``` Impersonal. While it does appear that online social connections are being made, compared to LJ they do not seem like in depth exchanges where more personal relationships can develop.
``` Overwhelming. The very same eye candy wonderfulness of Tumblr can lead to visual overload. For individuals who have been blogging for years on other platforms, the functionality and structure of Tumblr seem less intuitive. I'm not sure it is less intuitive for those who've entered the Internets via sites such as Tumblr however.
``` Non-lineal: Due to the visual flexibility of your personal Tumblr page, information you reblog or post can be presented in very non-lineal ways. Which can sometimes be overwhelming for Tumblr newbies and/or more lineal-oriented individuals. (Note: as far as I can tell the more lineal Tumblr Dashboard is not officially customizable; although there appears to be hacks available to work around that.)
``` Totally private or totally public: You can make Tumblr posts visible only to yourself, but as far as I can tell you cannot created limited visibility based on groups of users. (I might be wrong about this, but I think this is the case based on what I've read.)
EDITs:
``` Spoilers! I felt it was important to add the fact that you may easily stumble across spoilers should you venture on to Tumblr. So beware.
``` Uncut: Someone pointed out in the comments that Tumblrer's may not cut fic, spoilers, or other content for length. I'm not sure if there is Tumblr etiquette or not, but assuming there is, it is different than on LJ.
~ Take it fast and hot ~
Tumblr is an exciting ride on a visual rollercoaster that will get your blood pumping and take your breath away.
EDIT: Oh, and beware, you may stumble across spoilers on Tumblr.
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Livejournal :: a virtual community where Internet users can keep a blog, journal or diary. (x)
::: in essence :::
``` More personal & intimate. Potential for more indepth connection with others. IMO this is the LJ's main benefit. You can blog on Tumblr and make connections, but the structure of Tumblr is more suited to fast and "wow", then in-depth and personal.
``` Relaxed. Take your time. Enjoy connecting with friends and having in depth conversations. Or just sit back and browse.
``` A bit harder to share information. Nothing like "reblogging" or "liking" available.
``` More traditional/old-fashioned presentation of images/gifs. This can be both less exciting but also less overwhelming.
``` Lineal. LJ is like writing a diary or a letter and sharing it with your friends. It starts at the beginning and flows to the end. No crazy jumping and bobbing all over the place. ;-)
``` Public or Private or custom communities. You can create custom communities to share your posts in a more controlled fashion.
EDIT: ``` Cutting Etiquette is strong. LJ etiquette is long defined and encouraged/enforced. People cut for length, graphic intensiveness, and for spoilers.
~ Slow down and smell the roses ~
LJ is a place where you curl up in an easy chair on a lazy Sunday morning, sip your tea, and connect with friends from around the world about mutual interests and personal lives.
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Tumblr is fast moving place. Beware that you may find sites that reblog uncredited photos and questionable manips. And there are shippers galore on Tumblr. Honestly I go there for the pretty and haven't spent much time reading posts. But from glimpses I would not be surprised if there are ship wars in Tumblrland.
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Monthly Roundup of Tumblrness
(Edit: Please note that I cannot guarantee the spoilerfree-ness of any of the Tumblr blogs linked to here. For future Tumblr roundups I will try to see if I can do so. But I'm not sure Tumblr etiquette is such that it will ever be possible to securely note what is spoiler free and what is not. I may continue to bring samples of actual images here for those who are uncomfortable with spoilers.)
- If you want to browse Tumblr for J2 goodies, simply enter J2 in the "search tags" field in the upper right corner of your Tumblr dashboard screen. Or just click here.
- Below are some various images I found last week on Tumblr.
On the Tumblr blog Supernatural Support,
I found these wonderful images of Dean's baby taken by SPN camera operator, Brian Rose.
You can find great fanart throughout, such as this Impala themed piece posted by twelve-hundred
Smoking hot Dean posted by janblue whose Tumblr is mostly about Supernatural.
Kerry has some great SPN tagged posts on her lestrade Tumblr. Such as this great one of Sam & Dean from the pilot.
- Click here for some wonderful Sam & Dean fanart from Hunters Brasil.
- LetmesayIloveyou's Tumblr is chock full of SPN wonderfulness including Sam & Dean fanart, photos from conventions, and gifs.
- Here is a Tumblr site that appears to have screen caps from various shows, including Supernatural screen caps.
- For those who are considering going to an SPN convention for the first time, here is a site dedicated to Tips and Advice for Supernatural conventions.
I'm still learning and exploring Tumblr. I have to take it in small doses as it can be a bit overwhelming. As I said up above, I think Tumblr and LJ can co-exist. I found so many wonderful images on the night of the PCAs.
I'd love to hear from folks as to what sites you've found that you love. What do you like about Tumblr? What do you not understand?
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