Before I start linking to various tumblrs, here is a hefty content warning. As with any blog or news feed, your experience with Tumblr is what you make it, but it is more difficult to find a completely family-friendly environment. Tumblr has no language controls. Usernames and comments often can contain profane language. How often you come across them depends on which tumblrs/users you "follow," but it's difficult to avoid. This lack of editing also carries over into visual content, but in my experience it's easier to avoid than bad language. The only nudity I've seen on Tumblr is in Renaissance art. Many, though not all, of the links on this page will have some profane language in their destinations.
In my experience, most people use it for nonacademic purposes, such as to express and geek out over various fandoms. These tumblrs often include gifs [x], which some find very annoying. (Again, you can usually avoid them depending on whom you follow.) Of course there are many jokes [x], but there is also some thoughtful fandom- [x] and non-fandom-related analysis. I have found promotional photography/personal blogs [x], cosplay blogs where people swap advice about cosplaying [x], a Herman Melville reading blog [x], and commercial, official, political academic, and academic hobby blogs (see: [x] [x] [x] [x] [x] [x]. By the way linking with the [x] is common on Tumblr, though I may be overusing it in this post).
As I see it, Tumblr has a lot of potential but has not yet fully matured as a microblogging platform. There is a huge potential audience; a post with Queen Elizabeth inspecting her grandsons in the military has over 400,000 "notes" (instances where someone likes or shares a post). Current barriers to growth, though growth is definitely happening, include Tumblr's reputation for being a time-wasting/gif-ridden/NSFW site and the poor designs of some tumblrs (if you've clicked on all my links, you'll find a couple of examples). However, it has a lot of influence and potential. As amateur analysis occasionally makes the rounds already, I believe that more "serious" content can and should become more prolific. I look forward to seeing more advertising done for more serious tumblrs so that the platform will be better utilized as an engine for discussion, action, education, and change.
I just read the Mulan post on the Disney freak link. It's funny how people use social media to do a cultural analysis of other media. I did think the analysis was quite insightful. So there are a lot of social media options that incorporate visual elements and text. What advantages do you think Tumblr has over Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest? I suppose all of these sites have potential to display and analyze more serious content in an academic way. I guess for you why do you prefer Tumblr to these other sites?
ReplyDeleteFriends of mine who have tumblrs have mentioned that when serious issues are brought up, users are generally biased and if anyone mentions a different viewpoint, they are ripped apart. I would say that happens in plenty of places, whether it tumblr or facebook or on the news or in real life. But do you see these same problems or do you think tumblr has more potential to be an open space for more serious content and thoughtful posts and replies despite the current maturity level?
ReplyDeleteI like that you recognize the potential for greater use of this platform. Just as video games have started off as being mostly used by mall rats at arcades and has spread to the use of serious actors and a billion dollar industry, I think there are a lot of ways to play with this form to create something greater. It might be difficult to do a lot of serious studying using Tumblr as a method of curating information that's not pop-culture based.
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