1. Unwrapping Tumblr
with the National Association of
Black Journalists at Marquette U.
#NABJUT
Mykl Novak • Marquette University
postmarq.tumblr.com • @myklnovak
2. MU Class of ’92
Marquette Journal staff photo • Source: ’92 Hilltop
3. Overview
I. What is Tumblr?
II. Posting on Tumblr
III. Engaging on Tumblr
IV. Lessons learned
V. 10 tips for journos
5. I: What is Tumblr?
• “The easiest way to blog.”
• Tumblr makes it effortless to share
anything you find or create.
• Post text, photos, quotes, links,
dialogues, audio, video, slideshows.
tumblr.com/why-tumblr
6. So what’s Tumblr really?
• “...a digital incubator for all things visually stunning.”
(Christine Erickson, mashable.com)
• “...the Lost and Found Department of the entire
Internet.” (Salon.com)
• “...the most interesting party you’ve ever been at.”
(Mark Coatney)
• “...the end of your social life.”
(urbandictionary.com)
21. Demographics
• Top 25 websites in U.S. ranked 21st by
• 56% female, 44% male
• Especially attracts ages 18 to 24
• College educated audience
Source: quantcast.com
23. 18,852,719,075
total posts
47,301,908
total blogs (tumblelogs)
www.tumblr.com/about/
24. Why Tumblr for Journos
• Post your own stories
• Not limited to 140-character tweets
• Group blogs allow multiple authors
• Get visual: photos and videos
• Promote your clips and other’s stories
25. Why Tumblr for Journos
• Mine Tumblr for story ideas
• Engage your readers (Tumblr followers)
• Connect with other journalists on Tumblr
• Selectively send posts to Facebook/Twitter
• Link Instagram photos to Tumblr
50. Chat post
Overheard at Brew Cudahy Cafe:
Barista #1: I’m really tired.
Barista #2: You work in a coffee shop.
Do something about it.
51. Audio post
• One audio upload per day
• MP3s only with 10MB limit
• Toll-free number to record
52. Video post
• Embed YouTube or Vimeo by URL
• Upload 5 minutes of video per day
• 100MB max per video file upload
53. Publish options
• Publish now — I mean, right now
• Add to queue — stagger your posts
• Publish on... — schedule your posts
• Save as draft — stockpile your posts
• Private — only for you
56. Reblog
• Similar to Twitter’s retweet
• Quickly shares what you love on Tumblr
• Creates a copy to your tumblelog
• Allows you to add your own comments
• Attributes to the original author
• Adds to notes on the original post
• Notifies author on dashboard (if set)
58. Like
• Marks what you like from Tumblr
• Similar to Twitter favorites
• Does NOT create a post on your tumblelog
• Adds to Notes on the original post
• Likes may appear in a sidebar or link (if set)
• Notifies author on dashboard (if set)
59. Reply
• Replies are off by default
• Can allow replies from people you follow
• Can allow replies from those following you
for more than two weeks
• Click Reply link on dashboard posts
• For comments, use DISQUS add-on
60. Answer a question
• End a text post or a caption with “?”
• Creates a question post with answer box
67. The Tag Advantage
• Only 10% of Tumblr users tag
• Surfaces content for others
• When posting, tags on right
• No hash/pound sign needed
• Comma or return after each; no hyphens in tags
• Search tags from dashboard
74. Creation vs. Curation
• Strike a balance between...
• Creating your original posts
• Curating other’s posts (reblogs)
• Remix or curate...
• Be careful with copyright
• Attribute the source Coach
Buzz
Lightyear
75. Follow judiciously
• Follow accounts that fit your interests
• Initially, I followed all who followed me
• Sometimes led to “dashboard noise”
• Gradually, I unfollowed some accounts
77. Seedy side of Tumblr
• Spam likes or reblogs (block as spam)
• Beware of phishing for Tumblr logins
• F-bombs, even on official Tumblr stuff
• F***yeah blogs
83. 4. Add captions
• Choose keywords in
the first 50 characters
• Use photo post for
photos; text posts may
offer you a headline
but yield a 125-pixel
photo in dash
• Identifies which
photo was reblogged
A Marquette student approaches the St. Joan or liked on dashboard
of Arc Chapel. notifications