Tumblr is a fun way to blog without writing a long story every day. It is designed to let users simply post a picture, quote, link, video or an audio clip — and add a little commentary if you want. You can also follow other Tumblr users (who can follow you, too), comment on their posts and even share their updates with your own followers. So Tumblr goes beyond a blogging platform to be a social network, as well. Setting up a Tumblr blog is quick and easy, and using Tumblr is even simpler. 1. Setting Up and Customizing Tumblr After you sign up for Tumblr, choose a name for your blog, which will become the URL for it, too. This will look something like www.anything.tumblr.com. Now you're ready to customize your new blog. Click on the name of your blog at the top of Tumblr and then click "customize theme." You can change the name of your blog here, add a description, and pick a new layout. Perhaps you want to make it look more like a "professional" blog meant for longer, text-based posts, or maybe choose a theme designed for a blog with only images. (Some themes are free, others can cost from $9 to $49.) 2. Posting to Tumblr Tumblr allows users to update their blog using one of seven types of posts; Text, Photo, Quote, Link, Chat, Audio or Video. Each option will automatically format your post for you, so you don’t need to know any code to make the post look good. [image] Here are few examples of how you can use Tumblr:
- Text: Post a short announcement about an upcoming event.
- Photo: Post pictures of a fashion inspiration or a delicious home-cooked meal.
- Quote: Share something inspirational, witty or meaningful — or just something you overheard.
- Link: Did you find something extremely funny on the Web? Share it with other Tumblr readers.
- Chat: Copy and paste a funny conversation from email or instant messaging with this feature (and a friend's permission).
- Audio: Can't get that new pop song out of your head? Share it on Tumblr so your followers can enjoy the new tune for the rest of the day, too.
- Video: Did you catch something seriously cool with your camera over the weekend? Share it.
To post on Tumblr, just click the icon of the media type you’d like to share, upload and fill out the rest of the fields, such as photo caption. Don't forget to tag the post with relevant terms that other people on Tumblr may use to search for new content. If you connected your account with Twitter or Facebook when you set it up, your posts can automatically be sent to one or both social networks. 3. Liking, Reblogging, Following, and Followers If you post interesting content — especially with relevant tags — other people will find your Tumblr and start following you. You will get emails notifying you of these new followers, and also see these notifications in your Tumblr dashboard, which is the page you see when you first log in to Tumblr. You can follow other Tumblr users by clicking on the Follow button on their profiles when you are logged into Tumblr. While it's not guaranteed, many Tumblr users with like-minded interests typically follow back, so you may want to spend some time looking for people with similar interests to follow. You can also express interest in others' content by liking their post, or reblogging it, which is sharing their post with your own followers. (This is similar to the "Share" feature in Facebook, as well as the "retweet" feature on Twitter.) Using Tumblr is really quite simple — but can easily become addictive as you discover others with like-minded interests sharing content that you also find interesting. While it can be easy to get into the habit of simply liking and reblogging others' content, try to share your own content, too, so that Tumblr users will want to follow you.