I like to think of myself as a bit of a hipster. I have round glasses, a snood and skinny jeans. I even wear denim shirts buttoned up all the way to the top. The truth is I need a lot of help to look like a hipster and it is all due to fashion expertise of my hipster girlfriend. However, one area where I don't need any help being a hipster is in the digital world. I'm on the social networks that aren't mainstream - like Snapchat. I was on Facebook before it was cool. So as I put forward my case for Tumblr, I do it because I want you, my faithful blog reader, to realise that being a digital hipster in 2014 is as easy as opening a Tumblr account.
I was really fortunate to visit the Tumblr Office in the Flatiron area of New York City, when I was there this past August. I attended a Q&A session with two community managers from Denny's, a popular American Family Restaurant Chain, and Diesel, the renowned fashion brand. It soon became clear that Tumblr had far more popularity in the US than I thought. Ironically, this popularity is not because of its position as a blogging platform, rather it is as a highly competitive social network that is growing in prominence daily. Tumblr has approximately 132 million monthly unique users, and there are about 60 million new posts taking place every day (Vaynerchuk, Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook, 151:2014). These high numbers give an indication as to why Yahoo purchased it for 1.1 billion US Dollars in May 2013.
On the other hand, while Tumblr is mainstream in the United States, it hasn't taken off properly in South Africa. I've been searching for some official user numbers but when I asked in New York, I understand the figure was around 45 000 monthly unique users in South Africa. What this tells me, is that the total Hipster population of South Africa is on Tumblr. If you want to be one of us, you better get involved!
Being a hipster ain't easy
I was really fortunate to visit the Tumblr Office in the Flatiron area of New York City, when I was there this past August. I attended a Q&A session with two community managers from Denny's, a popular American Family Restaurant Chain, and Diesel, the renowned fashion brand. It soon became clear that Tumblr had far more popularity in the US than I thought. Ironically, this popularity is not because of its position as a blogging platform, rather it is as a highly competitive social network that is growing in prominence daily. Tumblr has approximately 132 million monthly unique users, and there are about 60 million new posts taking place every day (Vaynerchuk, Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook, 151:2014). These high numbers give an indication as to why Yahoo purchased it for 1.1 billion US Dollars in May 2013.
On the other hand, while Tumblr is mainstream in the United States, it hasn't taken off properly in South Africa. I've been searching for some official user numbers but when I asked in New York, I understand the figure was around 45 000 monthly unique users in South Africa. What this tells me, is that the total Hipster population of South Africa is on Tumblr. If you want to be one of us, you better get involved!
Tumblr is The Creative Social Network
Following this experience at the Tumblr Office, I decided to get in on the action. I opened an account and followed a variety of diverse Tumblrs (thought leaders, entertainment blogs, comics. fun blogs, brands). Soon enough, I began to enjoy trawling the endless stream of beautiful imagery, interesting text and animated gifs and kept on discovering content that spoke to my interests. I learnt how easy it was to curate my own Tumblr by simply re-blogging the images that appeared in my dashboard feed, as well as uploading any other image from the web that I thought may be relevant.
So obviously the functionality of Tumblr is not unique - Wordpress, Blogger, even Google + all do similar jobs - what differentiates Tumblr from any other platform?
In his book Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook, Gary Vaynerchuk explains that Tumblr is a highly creative space that "provides an exhibition space for photographers, musician and graphic designers (151: 2014). I share the same sentiment. For me, Tumblr is the creative social network. Images that redefine and remix pop culture. Comics from every generation. Poetry. Videos. Articles. Photography. All of this customised to your interests. A digital hipster's paradise.
So how do you get started?
Firstly, go to www.tumblr.com and open an account. You may also want to download the app for your smartphone - it's a really effective way of keeping up to date.
Secondly, find some cool Tumblrs to follow. You can follow them by visiting the URL and clicking the follow button on the top right corner of the screen. Here are some suggestions:
Funny Tumblrs
Rich Kids of Instagram
Reasons My Son is Crying
Your Kickstarter Sucks
Kim Jong Un Looking at Things
Brands
Denny's Diner
Diesel Reboot
Coca Cola
Pop Culture
Siriusly Meg (TV)
Brian Michael Bendis (Comics)
Fuck Yeah Game of Thrones
A cool piece of visual content I found on Tumblr, Bub.
In his book Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook, Gary Vaynerchuk explains that Tumblr is a highly creative space that "provides an exhibition space for photographers, musician and graphic designers (151: 2014). I share the same sentiment. For me, Tumblr is the creative social network. Images that redefine and remix pop culture. Comics from every generation. Poetry. Videos. Articles. Photography. All of this customised to your interests. A digital hipster's paradise.
So how do you get started?
Firstly, go to www.tumblr.com and open an account. You may also want to download the app for your smartphone - it's a really effective way of keeping up to date.
Secondly, find some cool Tumblrs to follow. You can follow them by visiting the URL and clicking the follow button on the top right corner of the screen. Here are some suggestions:
Funny Tumblrs
Rich Kids of Instagram
Reasons My Son is Crying
Your Kickstarter Sucks
Kim Jong Un Looking at Things
Brands
Denny's Diner
Diesel Reboot
Coca Cola
Pop Culture
Siriusly Meg (TV)
Brian Michael Bendis (Comics)
Fuck Yeah Game of Thrones
Between10and5 (South African Photography)
Once you've followed these blogs, find more to follow in order to really build the richness of your feed.
Finally, design and curate your own Tumblr Blog by re-blogging your favourite posts.
In conclusion, Tumblr is a rich space for exploration for social network fans and digital marketers. I'm not sure whether its viable for South African audiences and brands at this early stage, but I do feel that it has a lot of potential. Tumblr could well be the next big thing in Social Media...best you swim ahead of the mainstream.
It's time for you to become a digital hipster.
References:
Vaynerchuk G, Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook, 2013, Harper-Collins
Once you've followed these blogs, find more to follow in order to really build the richness of your feed.
Kim Jong Un Looking at Things - a classic!!
Finally, design and curate your own Tumblr Blog by re-blogging your favourite posts.
In conclusion, Tumblr is a rich space for exploration for social network fans and digital marketers. I'm not sure whether its viable for South African audiences and brands at this early stage, but I do feel that it has a lot of potential. Tumblr could well be the next big thing in Social Media...best you swim ahead of the mainstream.
It's time for you to become a digital hipster.
References:
Vaynerchuk G, Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook, 2013, Harper-Collins
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