There is a popular .GIF on Tumblr to describe Tumblr users: a kid scrolling through his feed watching the posts whiz past his eyes [see below]. He’s clearly not reading anything, how could he? While it may be slightly hyperbolic, the idea behind it really captures what Tumblr is all about: high volume, text-light, visually focused content. The ability to seamlessly upload, browse through and reblog content allows the average user to shuffle through Tumblr at lightning speed, and with little fuss. The simplicity caters to a variety of topics, but the inherently visual and sharable nature of fashion and humor-centric content has allowed them to carve out significant niches on the platform. It’s where wannabe fashionistas are born and Internet memes go to die.
These topics certainly aren’t the only subjects that have taken on new life on Tumblr, and you can really find a Tumblr for just about anything, including Selleck Waterfall Sandwich (don’t ask me how I know about that one). Most of us here at the ‘sphere are big fans of Tumblr and asking any person for their favorite will yield a slew of blogs of all shapes and sizes. So, without further ado, I want to share a couple team favorites and a few personal gems for you to check out [read: browse for hours until you realize it’s 3 in the morning and you have work tomorrow].
With Tumblr’s growing popularity, brands have begun to establish a footprint on the site, specifically fashion brands. Kate Spade is one example of a fashion brand that has really perfected their voice on the platform. They rarely post their products, but focus on uploading lifestyle photos that establish the brand’s attitude, e.g. vintage photos, style sketches, shots of NYC. These simple, “inspirational” and visually appealing shots get reblogged hundreds of times and quickly spread the brand’s image across the platform. A picture they posted of a gumball machine received almost 5,000 notes! Similarly, if you are interested in all things sartorial, you may also want to check out T Magazine (The New York Times Style Magazine). Formatted in a slightly different fashion (see what I did there) than Kate Spade; they post high quality, high fashion photos straight from the runway or studio.
If you want to use Tumblr to keep up with public affairs, the Obama campaign has been pushing out content ranging from everyday happenings around the White House to explanations of Obama’s tax plans. My personal favorite post is the .GIF of Obama’s reaction to a marshmallow cannon firing. For more news on Tumblr, check out The Washington Post’s Blog, @innovations. It’s formatted to look just like their website, but hosts lighter, sharable daily news.
Now, if you just want something to tickle your funny bone, Tumblr is rife with hilarity. I could go on for hours listing LOL-worthy Tumblr blogs, but I’ll highlight a few heavy hitters:
Perez Hamilton – A spin on the gossip Blog, Perez Hilton, Perez Hamilton dishes the dirt on our forefathers, covering all the drama from the 13 original colonies. You just can’t go wrong with headlines like “Rhode Island Recognized as Colony with A Hippie Charter” and “King Charles II Gives Carolina to EIGHT Different Dudes.
9gag – The behemoth meme generator posts submissions from its website. If you want to know where that internet joke that everyone has beaten to a pulp came from, you can be confident it passed through 9gag at some point.
Dads Are the Original Hipsters – Self-explanatory. It is this blog’s mission to show all the hipsters out there that their dads were doing it before it was even cool to be a hipster. Followers are encouraged to send pictures of their fathers to be shared on the site.
Cats That Look Like Ron Swanson – Also self explanatory. Plus, cats are always internet gold.
T-Rex Trying – A personal favorite that catalogs the trials and tribulations of a T-Rex trying to adapt to modern living. Poor guy’s arms are so short!
Moral of this story, there is a Tumblr blog out there for everyone, so start exploring. Maybe you’ll think of the next obscure topic to Tumbl.