Tumblelogs… what to do with them?
Tumblelogs, such as Tumblr, are used to quickly assemble a stream of links, text, images, etc. Tumblelogs harken back to some of the original intent of weblogs – sharing links to interesting, useful, or cool websites with an application that is also faster and easier to learn that the standard blogging platforms like WordPress, Blogger, or Moveable Type.
The thing is, once you’re used to using one of these other blogging platforms and dabbling in HTML/CSS a bit, you might not be inclined to use a tumblelog. There’s a tradeoff: while you gain ease of use, you lose some of the flexibility and customization power that you get from traditional blogging platforms.
I use a Tumblr account to track certain items for future reference but I have at least two other bookmarking means to do that:
- StumbleUpon
- Deli.cio.us
This week I thought of a different idea for using a tumblelog and I thought I’d share it with you.
I’m using this tumblelog (powered by Soup.io) to act as a portfolio of guest posts that I’ve written for other blogs. It took me less than one hour to set up the tumblelog with links to my guest posts, as well as some formatting of the basic tumblelog template to get the look that I wanted.
I’ve changed the My Writing page of my blog to refer to the tumblelog and removed the original text entries.
Now that I’ve set it up, here are the possible benefits and disadvantages of using a tumblelog for this job:
Pros of using the tumblelog for my portfolio:
- I don’t have to update my own blog anymore whenever I write a guest post; I just add it to the tumblelog.
- It’s very easy to add the links to the tumblelog.
- If a potential employer wants to see samples of my blog writing, I can just give them the link to the tumblelog.
Cons of using the tumblelog for my portfolio:
- The tumblelog template isn’t as flexible or powerful as I might like.
- It encourages readers to click out of my blog when, ideally, I’d like to keep them there.
Next steps
I’m going to try using the tumblelog as my portolio for one month and see how it goes. If the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, I’ll expand the concept to some other writing.
What do you think? Do you have any innovative uses for tumblelogs? Why not share them with the rest of us?
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hey mark, you could just tag them in delicious with a specific tag “guestpost” and a short description
Then I would use wordpress rss widget to show the latest “guestpost” bookmarks direct from delicous, but right their on the brain blog.
Under that provide a url to the full list at delicious (including the “guestpost” tag)
Then you only have to bookmark them (which you probably do anyway) and you have it all on your site automagically. Plus one less site to maintain.
TimG, that's not a bad idea. My idea come from the desire to find a different use for tumblelogs, but I think your suggestion would work, too.
I have been struggling with what to do with my various blogs. I have my main one at sheenonline.biz, but then I also have a livejournal, a tumblr, a couple at blogspot. They have just accumulated over the years
Right now, they just show echos of what I send to Ping.fm, but this post has me thinking I could use them much more efficiently and specifically. Maybe for promoting new music I release and things like that. Good stuff.
Absolutely. This is just one idea that I had for using a tumblelog – your idea sounds good, too. I'm sure there are sites out there which are good for housing portfolios, but this seemed to be a quick and dirty solution.
I think this is a good idea for a tumblelog actually! Novel. With mine, I use it to find interesting photos and quotes from around the web, which isn't really all that original but it allows me a little left-brain indulgence.
Sure, lots of potential with tumblelogs
Hi Mark,
I like your idea but the delicious tag one by TimG is a good idea too. I use tumblr to track video game information. My blog has nothing to do with video games so it isn't appropriate there but there is still some info I want to track. I add screenshots and videos of upcoming games in which I am interested and screenshots and videos that I take myself of games that I am playing. I volunteer as a game approver at MobyGames – http://www.mobygames.com so the tumblr complements that endeavor. It's also a lot of fun.
I've also found a tumblelog to be useful to track other topics that don't fit with your regular blog. For example, things that you find funny online, a sports team, favorite musician, etc … things like that.