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As a part of Mass Communications month at VCU, founder of Tumblr David Karp came to speak about his rapidly growing microblogging platform earlier this week.
There is a slight chance that you may or may not be clear as to what exactly Tumblr is. Tumblr is not Facebook, it’s not Twitter, not Pinterest, nor is it Instagram. Tumblr is a blogging service that posts what Karp himself called “bite-sized information.” He was throw n off by the idea of ominous empty text posts for other blogging platforms like WordPress, TypePad and Blogger. He was inspired to start his own microblogging website that would encourage users to post just a photo, a powerful quote, a link, or if you want, a big long text post. So that’s what Tumblr is.
Where some say that Tumblr loses the blogger’s voice without placing the emphasis on strictly text content, Karp disagrees. He pointed out that you can gain a better sense about a blogger by scanning their small posts: a quote they felt resonated with them, an image from the start of their day taken on their smartphone, etc. Many businesses are utilizing Tumblr as a means to provide an inspiration board, to reblog information on upcoming events, and just to get their name out on the ever-expanding platform.
Just to give you an idea of Tumblr’s numbers just five years after they have started: there are 50 million Tumblrs, 600 posts per second, 16 billion page views per month…and growing! Tumblr is headquartered in New York but also has an office in Richmond which is growing ever so rapidly.
Karp was charming, funny and engaging. He’s a 25 year old kid who dropped out of high school and eventually went off running with his million-dollar idea. The growth of Tumblr is an inspiring digital fairytale to watch and behold. An entire generation couldn’t imagine life without their Tumblr, and that is something worth taking note of…or simply, reblogging.
We were inspired and wanted in on the game, you should be too! Follow the newly-launched, official Floricane Tumblr!