Tumblelogs are basically mini-blogs. They’re the direct content of a blog, minus the commentary. Most blogs out there are really just portals to other content, usually adding their on commentary. Tumblelogs simplify that, providing only the link. It can be a link, a photo, a video, a quote, etc.
While in theory, I think that Tumblelogs are a good idea I think that it doesn’t leave any room for someone to be themselves. In the end, all it is is a collection of links. When you commentate on these links in a blog you really make it unique.
Above is the Tumblr (a popular tumblelog creator) admin interface
A popular feature of Tumblr is the ability to aggregate feeds into your Tumblelog. This basically means that you’re combining lots of different content from other places on the internet into one place. Examples of feeds to aggregate include Flickr photos, Twitter statuses, Last.fm music, etc. And ironically, even blog posts. So a alot of Tumblelogs kind of turn into dumping grounds for all of your information online. Sort of a one-stop place. Unfortunately, I already have a one-stop place: Netsua.
But I went on and created one anyway. Tumblr is cool. It’s like Wordpress, yet much simpler. It’s fun and easy to use, but not very powerful. And here’s my tumblelog, entitled Mr. Squarepants’s Tumblelog. It’s not much. As I said, it’s just a dumping ground for all of my other things. I was inspired by Aaron’s, of course which he put a bit more work into.
So what do you think of Tumblelogs? I think that they’re a fad, but that’s what people were saying about blogging a few years ago, and now it’s seems to be here to stay. So are Tumblelogs a fad, or a newer generation of (mini) blogging?
On an unrelated note, happy birthday to my Mom!
I have one, http://mike3k.tumblr.com/ and it’s definitely a dumping ground. I almost never post directly to it; I aggregate my twitter updates, Flickr uploads, del.icio.us bookmarks, dugg items, blog posts, and all posts from macmegasite & worldbeatplanet.