 |
|
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | New York, New York, USA |
| Industry | social network service, micro-blogging |
| Employees | 8 [1] |
| Website | http://www.tumblr.com/ |
Tumblr is a blogging platform that allows users to post text, images, video, links, quotes, and audio to their tumblelog, a short-form blog. Users are able to "follow" other users and see their posts together on their dashboard. Users can like or reblog other blogs on the site. The service emphasizes customizability and ease of use.[2]
Contents |
Features
Tumblr’s emphasis is on customizability and ease of use, with a relatively simple sign-up process. The “like” button, which lets one user tell another that they like his or her content, and the “reblog” button, which easily reposts content from one tumblelog onto another, provide positive feedback that has given Tumblr an 85% retention rate[1], compared with 40% for Twitter.[3]
Users "follow" other tumblelogs, much like on Twitter, and their updates appear in one stream on the Dashboard. This is the interface where users can like and reblog posts, as well as the buttons to add content to their own tumblelog. Other tumblelogs the user maintains appear on the right, along with statistics like tumblarity.
There are many forms of content that can be added to the user's own tumblelog: there is the "Text" post, which is a simple self-explanatory form of post, which may be composed using a Text Editor, or HTML, depending on the user's preference (A basic knowledge of HTML is helpful when using the site in more advanced ways). As of mid-2009, it has been possible to upload images from your computer into a "Text" post, which was not the case originally; there is the "Photo" post, where the user can upload from their own computer an image (many file formats are applicable), or can embed from another site using the URL of that image. In a left-to-right fashion on the interface, the next category of post is "Quote" where one inserts a body of text into a box, and then submits a source - together these appear on the dashboard in a suitable manner. Next, the "Link" post, where one enters a body of text into one field, and a URL in a separate field (and an optional caption), and the body of text appears on its own as a hyperlink - a convenient way of avoiding the need for HTML anchors. Following this, there is a "Chat" post which automatically inserts the code required to copy conversations from Instant Messaging programs etc. into a similar style. Next, we have the "Audio" post, where one can upload MP3s (up to 10MB in size), or host audio files from other sites. However, the user may only upload one audio file per day. After this, there is the "Video" post, where the user can embed video files from sites such as YouTube and any site that hosts files (e.g. Photobucket), or upload to Tumblr by logging into Vimeo - who are working together with Tumblr to provide this free service.
History
David Karp founded Tumblr in 2007 while Jeff Rock created the tumblr app for the iPhone[4][5] with the help of lead developer Marco Arment. Right away 75,000 existing tumbleloggers switched to the platform, and since that time the service has garnered more than 800,000 users maintaining more than one million tumblelogs. Some prominent users include John Legend, Katy Perry, Gary Vaynerchuk, Taylor Colotti, and Justine Bateman.
Finances
Tumblr’s original funding came from Karp’s earnings as a software consultant at parenting site UrbanBaby. After fundraising efforts, Tumblr found $5.25 million in funding from Union Square Ventures, Spark Capital, and Betaworks (among other investors).[6] Tumblr shares two lead investors with Twitter.
See also
References
- ^ a b Dannen, Chris. "What the Hell is Tumblr? And other Worthwhile Questions". http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/chris-dannen/techwatch/what-hell-tumblr-and-other-worthwhile-questions. Retrieved 2009-06-25.
- ^ Boutin, Paul. "Tumblr Makes Blogging Blissfully Easy". http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/13/tumblr-makes-blogging-blissfully-easy/. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
- ^ Goldsmith, Belinda (April 29, 2009). "Many Twitters are quick quitters: study". Reuters (Thompson Reuters). http://www.reuters.com/article/deborahCohen/idUSTRE53S1A720090429. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
- ^ Kushner, David. "David Karp is the Barely Legal Blogfather". http://www.maxim.com/humor/articles/57088/davidkarpisthebarelylegalblogfather.html. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
- ^ Shafrir, Doree. "Would You Take a Tumblr With This Man?". http://www.observer.com/2008/would-you-take-tumblr-man. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
- ^ "Best Young Tech Entrepreneurs 2009". http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/04/0421_best_young_entrepreneurs/11.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-25.
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
