Tumblr
 | |
| Type of business | Private |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2007 |
| Headquarters | , USA |
| Industry | social network service, micro-blogging |
| Employees | 11[1] |
| URL | www.tumblr.com |
Tumblr is a blogging platform that allows users to post text, images, videos, links, quotes and audio to their tumblelog, a short-form blog. Users can follow other users, or choose to make their tumblelog private. The service emphasizes ease of use.[3]
History
David Karp founded Tumblr in 2007 with Marco Arment as lead developer.[4][5] 75,000 existing bloggers soon switched to the platform, and since that time, the service has garnered more than 3 million users. In 2009, Tumblr acquired the Tumblr iPhone app that was created by Jeff Rock.
On March 17, 2010, the Tumblr staff blog announced that Tumblr is now accessible on BlackBerry smart phones via an app created by Mobelux. On April 17, 2010, the application was made available on BlackBerry App World.
According to a March 8, 2010 post by David Karp to the Tumblr staff blog, the site is now averaging 2,000,000 posts and 15,000 new users every day. [6]
Features
Tumblr's emphasis is on customisation and ease of use, with a relatively simple sign-up process. There are many forms of content that can be added to the user's own tumblelog; the seven general categories for posts include Text, Photo, Quote, Link, Chat, Audio, and Video. Users "follow" other tumblelogs, much like on Twitter, and their updates appear in one stream on the Dashboard. This is the interface from which users can like and reblog posts, as well as add content to their own tumblelog. The "like" button, which lets one user tell another that they like his or her content, and the "reblog" button, which easily reposts content from one tumblelog onto another, provide positive feedback that has given Tumblr an 85% retention rate,[7] compared with 40% for Twitter.[8]
On March 15, 2010, the Tumblr staff blog announced that they were testing a feature that would allow direct video uploading. Previously, Tumblr could only host videos provided from an external host. Also, it recently added a feature that allows bloggers to add pages to their blog, allowing for more variety, organization, and flexibility with content.
Finances
Tumblr's original funding came from Karp's earnings as a software consultant at parenting site UrbanBaby. After fundraising efforts, Tumblr found $5.25 million in funding from Union Square Ventures, Spark Capital, and Betaworks (among other investors).[9] Tumblr shares two lead investors with Twitter.
See also
References
- ^ "About". Retrieved 2010-0530.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Text "Tumblr" ignored (help) - ^ "tumblr.com – Traffic Details from Alexa". Alexa Internet, Inc. Retrieved July 14, 2010.
- ^ Boutin, Paul (2009-03-13). "Tumblr Makes Blogging Blissfully Easy". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
- ^ Kushner, David. "David Karp is the Barely Legal Blogfather". Retrieved 2009-04-13.
- ^ Shafrir, Doree. "Would You Take a Tumblr With This Man?". Retrieved 2009-03-23.
- ^ Karp, David (2010-03-08). "Has It Been Three Years Already?". Retrieved 2010-03-09.
- ^ Dannen, Chris. "What the Hell is Tumblr? And other Worthwhile Questions". Retrieved 2009-06-25.
- ^ Goldsmith, Belinda (April 29, 2009). "Many Twitters are quick quitters: study". Reuters. Thompson Reuters. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
- ^ "Best Young Tech Entrepreneurs 2009". Retrieved 2009-06-25.