Friday, March 23, 2012
Let’s Talk About Tumblr
Technology in the Arts: Tumblr has not been discussed here in over a year, which I believe to be an egregious error. Since it’s undergone some significant changes since our last post, let’s revisit this microblogging platform (which is one of my personal faves). Our original post covered the basics of Tumblr, so if you haven’t checked it out, maybe that’s a good way to get up to speed.
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7 comments:
Having never used Tumblr, I found this article interesting and informative because I never really knew how it worked or what kinds of information it had. I do know that my friends who are into it are completely addicted to it and will, without a doubt, spend hours on. I guess it is a good way, now a safe way, to share common interests that go beyond the other social networks. There can be some down sides to this in that people are too obsessed with it and live through this. It sounds like the future of blogging and there are definitely people who can benefit from this turn in news and communication. All that's left for me to do is to try it out and experience it first hand.
Tumblr is an interesting little thing. I know a lot of people who use it, and a lot of people who have no idea how to use it or don't even know what it is. Once you get past the indie/hipster/weird chick who only has only friends stereotypes which it tends to make its way around well enough, there is actually a lot of cool, useful information there. For one thing, a lot of images get posted. They go everywhere from comics to tackier stock photos to some really neat photography. I know I have taken images I have seen here for research, and have even used an article I first saw on tumblr (but was originally part of a national news site) as the basis for a project I had been working on. Also, it's fun to tumble!
I once had a dream of being tumblr-famous. It didn't work out. My tumblr experience is essentially an endless cycle of reblogging other people's artsy pictures. I enjoy it and I've used pictures I found on Tumblr as image research.
If you get out of the reblogging cycle, Tumblr is also just a very simple, effective blogging platform. It's easy enough to maneuver and customize that anyone can use it, but you can also write your own code if you want to.
I've also found that sometimes Tumblrs lean towards the model of the single serving site. Here are a few of my favorites:
Disney Face Swap
Kim Jong-Il Looking At Things
Garfield Minus Garfield
I have a tumblr account and am still confused by it. I think that confusion is the reason I gave up on it after a week. Yes, the pictures are pretty, but I just don't understand those who can spend hours on it a day; too frustrating. I have times when I think "maybe I should try again, because everyone else seems to be doing it". Then I realize that I dont care.
I don't use a tumblr because I don't really understand it (although I do a bit more after reading this article) and I'm afraid it will suddenly eat up all of my time. What I'm always concerned about is that there is all sorts of art and information that is being passed on and reblogged and it is usually impossible to know where or how it was originated, not to mention who should have credit. It seems to me that tumblr could lead to some pretty tricky copyright issues. I'm wondering if in the future, when the law catches up with technology, whether there will be some regulations.
my tumblr is nice. a compilation of sports and the arts. where else can i go that is a webpage subscribed to inspirational art pictures and motivational sports posters. its a good life. I enjoy the convenience of only being able to see what i want regardless of who follows me. admittedly - it a website that suits my artistic side over my normal personality, but it is a good outlet nonetheless. I also enjoy the convenience of hearing about local or smaller organizations and their promotions, shows, or anything because i can subscribe to them.
I haven't had a tumblr for very long, but it's interesting to see how a site like that evolves over the course of its lifetime. For those who've never used Tumblr, it's sort of difficult to explain, so I'm glad this article explains how the latest version of Tumblr operates. It's definitely a place to speak your mind, and because of it, I've been exposed to many different creative people and different works of art and different ways of expressing ideas.
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