03
April 2008
9:41 AM
Well, I'm a Tumblr
Don’t you miss it, don’t you miss it. Some of you people just about missed it!
Tumblr, that is. Don’t miss it.
Since I only have 2 friends using Tumblr (compared to 100 on Facebook), I figured it would be valuable to write a Tumblr 101 column. I don’t consider myself an early adopter, but I am one of the first 200,000 people to sign up for Tumblr and I’ve read that Davidville, the brainchild and development firm of Tumblr, has a goal of 1 million users by the end of the year. I don’t see why they can’t get 2 million. Tumblr rocks.
Tumblr markets itself as: “Post anything + Customize everything … Tumblelogs are the easiest way to share yourself”
First of all, you need to understand what a tumblelog is. I like to think a Tumblelog as a micro-blog, where one can share quick thoughts or other content on the web with minimal effort and time. If you enjoy sharing content with your friends, family, or the world, but don’t have a lot of time to do it, a tumblelog is for you.
Tumblr is the engine powering your tumblelog. Think of it as Blogger or WordPress.com for bloggers.
The Tumblr website reads that you can “Sign up and start posting in 10 seconds”. I’m hear to tell you that that’s a true statement. It’s that easy.
Once you’ve signed up, and every time you log into tumblr.com, you are presented with your dashboard (pic below).
Tumblr makes it pretty clear what you can post to your tumblelog. It’s right there in front of you on the dashboard. You can post text (HTML supported), for example an original column like this one; photos with captions; quotes; links with descriptions; chat/IM transcripts; audio clips; and video clips. All you have to do is click on one of the icons and post your content. Pretty simple, right? Well, I never use the dashboard to post because Tumblr offers a bookmarklet, which is even easier. Even though the dashboard is simple to use, this bookmarklet is one of Tumblr’s most critical features. Without it, usage would be a lot lower. As you surf the web every day, all you have to do is click on your bookmarklet and post. You have all the same options for posting as you do in the dashboard. To install the bookmarklet, log in to your Tumblr account, click the Account link in the main navigation, which will produce a drop-down menu. Click the Extras link. The bookmarklet is the first item on the Extras page. Just drag the Share on Tumblr button to your bookmarks bar. Done.
Designing your Tumblelog with Tumblr
So, I’ve outlined what you can post, but what will your tumblelog look like? Tumblr gives you 9 templates to choose from. Once again from your dashboard, go to Account, and then click on Theme. You’ll notice that each type of post (i.e. quote, link, chat, etc) is typically styled differently. You can pick a theme and go, or you can spend more time creating a custom theme. I chose a third option, more of a middle ground. I took one of Tumblr’s themes (the “Fold” theme) and customized it. Here is the “Fold” theme (not customized) at Steve Rubel’s tumblelog: http://www.steverubel.com/. Here is my tumblelog based on the “Fold” theme: http://www.toddwickersty.com.
To customize an existing theme and/or create your own, pick one of the Tumblr themes and then copy the HTML that is provided in the Custom HTML box. Dump the HTML into your favorite text editor and begin the customization process. I would remove the CSS from the HTML and insert it into a separate .css file. This makes it much quicker to make changes in the future. Once you get the HTML set, you need to paste the entire HTML back into the Custom HTML box, select it as the theme, and save your changes. Tumblr does provide a preview of what your theme will look like, so pay attention to that before you save. Make sure you have added a link to your style sheet as well (if you took the CSS out of the HTML file). In the HTML file you can also include JavaScript and Flash, if you’d like. As time moves on, you might want to make changes to the site design. All you have to do is make the changes in your .css file and upload it to the server that it resides on, instead of having to log into Tumblr and messing with the custom HTML. Again though, all of this customization is extra. If you like one of the existing Tumblr themes, pick it and start posting. You can also change themes after you’ve started posting in case you want to switch it up.
Your Tumblr Address
As a default, your tumblelog address will be http://WhateverYouWantToCallIt.tumblr.com. For example, Kevin’s tumblelog is kevincurry.tumblr.com. However, you can point your tumblelog to a domain other than tumblr.com like I have. It’s not necessary, but it’s a nice feature. Tumblr’s help page describes it as “tricky to set up”, but it really isn’t. If you use GoDaddy as your registrar, log into your GoDaddy account. Hover over Domains in the main nav and then click on My Domains. Select the domain that you want to use for your tumblelog. You should be taken to the Domains Details page for that domain. If you are, then you should be able to click on the Total DNS Control and MX Records link in the middle column under the Total DNS heading. The Total DNS Control Panel is now displayed. Click the Advanced button in the top right corner of the control panel. Under the A (Host) section, click on the Add New A Record button on the right side of the page. On the next page, enter “@” as the Host Name and “72.32.231.8” as the IP address. You can leave the TTL as is. Click Ok. Step 1 complete. Next, log into tumblr.com, click Account and then Settings. Under URL, click on Use a custom domain name and enter it. You have the option to test it. This is what you’ll see if successful:
Following other Tumblr users
For some people, including myself, what I’ve reviewed thus far is good enough. However, if you are like me, then you are always looking for more.
If you use Twitter, then you are familiar with the concept of following. It’s normal to follow your friend’s sites, but it’s also normal to follow other sites from people who you don’t know. Why would you follow people you don’t know? Because their sites provide content that you find interesting, humorous, or compelling. It’s just like subscribing to a RSS feed of one of your favorite websites or blogs. “Following” someone just feels a little creepy at first, but it’s an accepted and expected practice.
To follow another tumblelog powered by Tumblr, you can log into tumblr.com and click on the following icon in the top right corner of your dashboard. It’s just below the main navigation and to the right of the magnifying glass icon. On the next page, you will be able to type in the address of the Tumblr site that you want to follow. Tumblr also offers a more fluid option to follow others. If you are logged into Tumblr and land on another tumblelog site powered by Tumblr, the page will present a Dashboard icon on the right side of the page, and a Follow link to the left of it. Click on the Follow link. Done.
As you start to follow people, your Tumblr dashboard will become a more popular destination. It displays all Tumblr updates from the sites that you are following. Take a look at this screenshot again, but this time below the post icons.
I am following Steve Rubel’s tumblelog and his latest updates are at the top of my dashboard because those are the latest updates of all the sites that I am following. As you follow more people, you’ll have to scroll through multiple pages of updates. However, if the content is interesting to you, then that won’t be an issue. If it becomes a chore, then stop following so many sites.
The Reblog
Reblogging is the act of reposting a post from one tumblelog to yours. It is a simple way to spread the sharing of content. A reblog will display the entire post on your tumblelog with a link/credit back to the original tumblelog. Here is an example. I read this column about Tumblr and Twitter on Dembot.com last week, and then reblogged it on my tumblelog. Here is the output. Reblogging is just as easy as everything else I’ve reviewed thus far. You can reblog from your dashboard as you read through the updates from those sites that you are following, or you can reblog when you are logged into your Tumblr account and viewing a single post page on another Tumblr site. The Reblog link will appear to the left of the Follow and Dashboard buttons.
Feed Me!
One of the best features of Tumblr is the ability to feed your tumblelog with content from other accounts and RSS feeds. You have the option to use up to 5 feeds at once. I’ve played around with this some since I opened my account 6 weeks ago. Right now, I am feeding my tumblelog with RSS feeds from Business Bullpen and The Butter Room. Tumblr truncates posts from feeds at 50 characters to protect the original author’s copyright. Here is an example of a post from a RSS feed on a tumblelog. I also feed my tumblelog with new photos posted to my Flickr account (example), new bookmarks on del.icio.us (example), and updates from Twitter (example).
I was feeding it with my shared items from Google Reader, which I still think is a great use of Tumblr, but I removed it from my feeds because I felt it was too much information to follow. With any new product that you like, you tend to overuse it in the beginning and then fine tune your use so there is less noise and more substance. Removing my Google Reader feed was part of this fine tuning. Going forward, I don’t plan to share many, if any, articles on Google Reader. I’ll just post a link to the original article with a description on my tumblelog using the bookmarklet.
Mobile
I’ll admit. I have yet to use the dashboard within my iPhone. I’ve read good things. Will need to check that out.
But, I have used the mobile post feature. Tumblr provides you with a unique email address to post text, photos, MP3s, or videos from your phone. Here is an example of the outcome. One tip - when posting a photo (and I assume a MP3), the subject line is the caption.
I plan to use this feature a lot in the future. It is going to be great for vacations. I might be testing it Thursday night when I’m back in Blacksburg and hopefully in the brick and mortar version of the butter room.
Search
Tumblelogs powered by Tumblr do not come with search. However, I recommend customizing your theme to include Jacob Dehart’s search engine. Installation instructions are here.
Typically, the readers of your website benefit the most from a search engine. With a tumblelog, I find that it helps the site owner as much, if not more, than the reader. Since I feed my tumblelog with my bookmarks from del.icio.us, it is quicker for me to find these bookmarks by doing a quick search on toddwickersty.com instead of wading through my bookmarks in my del.icio.us firefox add-on or going to the del.icio.us site.
Comments
Tumblr does not come with a commenting engine, and I think you’ll find that the Tumblr community is divided on whether tumblelogs should offer commenting. I’ve added it because it was so easy with Disqus. This requires a modification to your theme, but it’s easy to figure out especially if you created your own custom theme or modified one of Tumblr’s themes.
Audio/Video
I haven’t used the audio posting functionality that much, but here is an example of an audio post. You can upload one audio file per day, no greater than 5MB.
You can embed videos from other sites that offer the embed feature. Davidville has also partnered with Vimeo for video posting. I haven’t signed up for Vimeo (yet), frankly because I can’t keep track of all of my accounts.
More Info
I am not a Tumblr expert, but I am learning. The Tumblers network on ning has been a good educational resource thus far. I found the search and comments add-ons there. Facebook also has a group you can join.
If this column made no sense at all to you, then check out this Rocketboom video starting at the 1:55 mark. It provides a crash course on Tumblr.
Finally, if any Tumblr users read this article and make it this far, please leave a comment about a feature that I missed. I’d like to make this a resource for new Tumblr users. In addition, The Butter Room will have a Q&A with the Lead Developer of Tumblr, Marco Arment, later this week.
P.S. - This is where the title of my column and initial quote comes from:
And here is a version I caught on Halloween in 1996 by Phish:
Cheers!
Tumblr, that is. Don’t miss it.
Since I only have 2 friends using Tumblr (compared to 100 on Facebook), I figured it would be valuable to write a Tumblr 101 column. I don’t consider myself an early adopter, but I am one of the first 200,000 people to sign up for Tumblr and I’ve read that Davidville, the brainchild and development firm of Tumblr, has a goal of 1 million users by the end of the year. I don’t see why they can’t get 2 million. Tumblr rocks.
Tumblr markets itself as: “Post anything + Customize everything … Tumblelogs are the easiest way to share yourself”
First of all, you need to understand what a tumblelog is. I like to think a Tumblelog as a micro-blog, where one can share quick thoughts or other content on the web with minimal effort and time. If you enjoy sharing content with your friends, family, or the world, but don’t have a lot of time to do it, a tumblelog is for you.
Tumblr is the engine powering your tumblelog. Think of it as Blogger or WordPress.com for bloggers.
The Tumblr website reads that you can “Sign up and start posting in 10 seconds”. I’m hear to tell you that that’s a true statement. It’s that easy.
Once you’ve signed up, and every time you log into tumblr.com, you are presented with your dashboard (pic below).
Tumblr makes it pretty clear what you can post to your tumblelog. It’s right there in front of you on the dashboard. You can post text (HTML supported), for example an original column like this one; photos with captions; quotes; links with descriptions; chat/IM transcripts; audio clips; and video clips. All you have to do is click on one of the icons and post your content. Pretty simple, right? Well, I never use the dashboard to post because Tumblr offers a bookmarklet, which is even easier. Even though the dashboard is simple to use, this bookmarklet is one of Tumblr’s most critical features. Without it, usage would be a lot lower. As you surf the web every day, all you have to do is click on your bookmarklet and post. You have all the same options for posting as you do in the dashboard. To install the bookmarklet, log in to your Tumblr account, click the Account link in the main navigation, which will produce a drop-down menu. Click the Extras link. The bookmarklet is the first item on the Extras page. Just drag the Share on Tumblr button to your bookmarks bar. Done.
Designing your Tumblelog with Tumblr
So, I’ve outlined what you can post, but what will your tumblelog look like? Tumblr gives you 9 templates to choose from. Once again from your dashboard, go to Account, and then click on Theme. You’ll notice that each type of post (i.e. quote, link, chat, etc) is typically styled differently. You can pick a theme and go, or you can spend more time creating a custom theme. I chose a third option, more of a middle ground. I took one of Tumblr’s themes (the “Fold” theme) and customized it. Here is the “Fold” theme (not customized) at Steve Rubel’s tumblelog: http://www.steverubel.com/. Here is my tumblelog based on the “Fold” theme: http://www.toddwickersty.com.
To customize an existing theme and/or create your own, pick one of the Tumblr themes and then copy the HTML that is provided in the Custom HTML box. Dump the HTML into your favorite text editor and begin the customization process. I would remove the CSS from the HTML and insert it into a separate .css file. This makes it much quicker to make changes in the future. Once you get the HTML set, you need to paste the entire HTML back into the Custom HTML box, select it as the theme, and save your changes. Tumblr does provide a preview of what your theme will look like, so pay attention to that before you save. Make sure you have added a link to your style sheet as well (if you took the CSS out of the HTML file). In the HTML file you can also include JavaScript and Flash, if you’d like. As time moves on, you might want to make changes to the site design. All you have to do is make the changes in your .css file and upload it to the server that it resides on, instead of having to log into Tumblr and messing with the custom HTML. Again though, all of this customization is extra. If you like one of the existing Tumblr themes, pick it and start posting. You can also change themes after you’ve started posting in case you want to switch it up.
Your Tumblr Address
As a default, your tumblelog address will be http://WhateverYouWantToCallIt.tumblr.com. For example, Kevin’s tumblelog is kevincurry.tumblr.com. However, you can point your tumblelog to a domain other than tumblr.com like I have. It’s not necessary, but it’s a nice feature. Tumblr’s help page describes it as “tricky to set up”, but it really isn’t. If you use GoDaddy as your registrar, log into your GoDaddy account. Hover over Domains in the main nav and then click on My Domains. Select the domain that you want to use for your tumblelog. You should be taken to the Domains Details page for that domain. If you are, then you should be able to click on the Total DNS Control and MX Records link in the middle column under the Total DNS heading. The Total DNS Control Panel is now displayed. Click the Advanced button in the top right corner of the control panel. Under the A (Host) section, click on the Add New A Record button on the right side of the page. On the next page, enter “@” as the Host Name and “72.32.231.8” as the IP address. You can leave the TTL as is. Click Ok. Step 1 complete. Next, log into tumblr.com, click Account and then Settings. Under URL, click on Use a custom domain name and enter it. You have the option to test it. This is what you’ll see if successful:
Following other Tumblr users
For some people, including myself, what I’ve reviewed thus far is good enough. However, if you are like me, then you are always looking for more.
If you use Twitter, then you are familiar with the concept of following. It’s normal to follow your friend’s sites, but it’s also normal to follow other sites from people who you don’t know. Why would you follow people you don’t know? Because their sites provide content that you find interesting, humorous, or compelling. It’s just like subscribing to a RSS feed of one of your favorite websites or blogs. “Following” someone just feels a little creepy at first, but it’s an accepted and expected practice.
To follow another tumblelog powered by Tumblr, you can log into tumblr.com and click on the following icon in the top right corner of your dashboard. It’s just below the main navigation and to the right of the magnifying glass icon. On the next page, you will be able to type in the address of the Tumblr site that you want to follow. Tumblr also offers a more fluid option to follow others. If you are logged into Tumblr and land on another tumblelog site powered by Tumblr, the page will present a Dashboard icon on the right side of the page, and a Follow link to the left of it. Click on the Follow link. Done.
As you start to follow people, your Tumblr dashboard will become a more popular destination. It displays all Tumblr updates from the sites that you are following. Take a look at this screenshot again, but this time below the post icons.
I am following Steve Rubel’s tumblelog and his latest updates are at the top of my dashboard because those are the latest updates of all the sites that I am following. As you follow more people, you’ll have to scroll through multiple pages of updates. However, if the content is interesting to you, then that won’t be an issue. If it becomes a chore, then stop following so many sites.
The Reblog
Reblogging is the act of reposting a post from one tumblelog to yours. It is a simple way to spread the sharing of content. A reblog will display the entire post on your tumblelog with a link/credit back to the original tumblelog. Here is an example. I read this column about Tumblr and Twitter on Dembot.com last week, and then reblogged it on my tumblelog. Here is the output. Reblogging is just as easy as everything else I’ve reviewed thus far. You can reblog from your dashboard as you read through the updates from those sites that you are following, or you can reblog when you are logged into your Tumblr account and viewing a single post page on another Tumblr site. The Reblog link will appear to the left of the Follow and Dashboard buttons.
Feed Me!
One of the best features of Tumblr is the ability to feed your tumblelog with content from other accounts and RSS feeds. You have the option to use up to 5 feeds at once. I’ve played around with this some since I opened my account 6 weeks ago. Right now, I am feeding my tumblelog with RSS feeds from Business Bullpen and The Butter Room. Tumblr truncates posts from feeds at 50 characters to protect the original author’s copyright. Here is an example of a post from a RSS feed on a tumblelog. I also feed my tumblelog with new photos posted to my Flickr account (example), new bookmarks on del.icio.us (example), and updates from Twitter (example).
I was feeding it with my shared items from Google Reader, which I still think is a great use of Tumblr, but I removed it from my feeds because I felt it was too much information to follow. With any new product that you like, you tend to overuse it in the beginning and then fine tune your use so there is less noise and more substance. Removing my Google Reader feed was part of this fine tuning. Going forward, I don’t plan to share many, if any, articles on Google Reader. I’ll just post a link to the original article with a description on my tumblelog using the bookmarklet.
Mobile
I’ll admit. I have yet to use the dashboard within my iPhone. I’ve read good things. Will need to check that out.
But, I have used the mobile post feature. Tumblr provides you with a unique email address to post text, photos, MP3s, or videos from your phone. Here is an example of the outcome. One tip - when posting a photo (and I assume a MP3), the subject line is the caption.
I plan to use this feature a lot in the future. It is going to be great for vacations. I might be testing it Thursday night when I’m back in Blacksburg and hopefully in the brick and mortar version of the butter room.
Search
Tumblelogs powered by Tumblr do not come with search. However, I recommend customizing your theme to include Jacob Dehart’s search engine. Installation instructions are here.
Typically, the readers of your website benefit the most from a search engine. With a tumblelog, I find that it helps the site owner as much, if not more, than the reader. Since I feed my tumblelog with my bookmarks from del.icio.us, it is quicker for me to find these bookmarks by doing a quick search on toddwickersty.com instead of wading through my bookmarks in my del.icio.us firefox add-on or going to the del.icio.us site.
Comments
Tumblr does not come with a commenting engine, and I think you’ll find that the Tumblr community is divided on whether tumblelogs should offer commenting. I’ve added it because it was so easy with Disqus. This requires a modification to your theme, but it’s easy to figure out especially if you created your own custom theme or modified one of Tumblr’s themes.
Audio/Video
I haven’t used the audio posting functionality that much, but here is an example of an audio post. You can upload one audio file per day, no greater than 5MB.
You can embed videos from other sites that offer the embed feature. Davidville has also partnered with Vimeo for video posting. I haven’t signed up for Vimeo (yet), frankly because I can’t keep track of all of my accounts.
More Info
I am not a Tumblr expert, but I am learning. The Tumblers network on ning has been a good educational resource thus far. I found the search and comments add-ons there. Facebook also has a group you can join.
If this column made no sense at all to you, then check out this Rocketboom video starting at the 1:55 mark. It provides a crash course on Tumblr.
Finally, if any Tumblr users read this article and make it this far, please leave a comment about a feature that I missed. I’d like to make this a resource for new Tumblr users. In addition, The Butter Room will have a Q&A with the Lead Developer of Tumblr, Marco Arment, later this week.
P.S. - This is where the title of my column and initial quote comes from:
And here is a version I caught on Halloween in 1996 by Phish:
Cheers!
Tagged in: Tumblr - Davidville - Technology -
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