I don't buy the whole, "better for longer posts" platform stuff, that's just marketing... Twitter is not good for longer posts because there is an arbitrary cap, which has always frustrated me and is why I find tinyurl and twitblog interesting. There couldn't be an easier platform to make a long post to than Tumblr. It's got one push publishing, spell check and all of the features that Wordpress, Typepad and Blogger have so there is no platform better or worse for "longer posts". Equally it's not hard to make short or multiple posts on Wordpress or Typepad, etc. It's just choice although I do agree that it is logical that you can make longer posts on those platforms and quick, status update style of posts with Twitter, but again, that's due to Twitter's limitations (no photos, media, 140 limit) not the limitations of the other platforms. You could pretty much accomplish whatever you want on whatever platform you choose, I just like Tumblr because it's easy although I wish I could batch upload photos and other media like I can with Wordpress...
dkbm
· 1 year ago
Largely, I agree! However, I can still see value in using different platforms for different types of posts as people seek information in different amounts at different times. For instance readers might want to check avc.com for longer posts once or twice a week, but check twitter regularly for Fred's more casual thoughts. So I think there are reasons beyond marketing that different services get used for different content densities so to speak , despite there being no actual limitation in this regard (for instance tumbler vs. wordpress).
webwright
· 1 year ago
Interesting stuff!
Any idea how long you spend doing all this? That's not a jab-- I'm just curious. I think there's a ton of value in blogging/microblogging (for people in your line of work), and I suppose it's a bit of an income stream for you as well. I just find Twitter/my blog to be an incredible time sink and my post volume is way lower than yours.
Of course, Twitter/Tumblr can all be "on the move" (in cabs, waiting rooms, etc).
fredwilson
· 1 year ago
it's an hour per day of focused time first thing in the morning and then a few minutes here and there the rest of the day, maybe an hour and a half per day in total. btw - i don't make any money directly from blogging. i give all the ad revenue to charity
brooksjordan
· 1 year ago
I agree about Tumblr becoming a visual version of del.icio.us . . . that's how I'm using it, too.
And as a result, I feel like it's much easier and more enjoyable to track and absorb information on any number of topics.
daryn
· 1 year ago
I've never been as loyal or as satisfied with self-publishing as I have been with tumblr. I haven't written a long-form blog post in awhile, which would normally mean the death of yet another of my blogs, but being able to just post things and quick thoughts on tumblr has kept me going through all the lulls.
Did you run the tumblr stats script ( http://naivt.com/random/tumblr.rb )? It gives you a breakdown of types of posts and your outbound links.
Janet Fouts
· 1 year ago
Hmm, I do most of my Twitter posts in the morning on the treadmill too, it's an easy thing to update while I'm reading my feeds. Tumblr tends to be where I save my design links and miscellaneous interesting bits, while my blogs get attention 2-3 times a week if I'm able.
The thing is, each of my blogs has a different audience and different content, and so do the micro-blogs, but the volume goes to Twitter because of it's ease of use and the size of my network there.
All Comments
Any idea how long you spend doing all this? That's not a jab-- I'm just curious. I think there's a ton of value in blogging/microblogging (for people in your line of work), and I suppose it's a bit of an income stream for you as well. I just find Twitter/my blog to be an incredible time sink and my post volume is way lower than yours.
Of course, Twitter/Tumblr can all be "on the move" (in cabs, waiting rooms, etc).
And as a result, I feel like it's much easier and more enjoyable to track and absorb information on any number of topics.
Did you run the tumblr stats script ( http://naivt.com/random/tumblr.rb )? It gives you a breakdown of types of posts and your outbound links.
The thing is, each of my blogs has a different audience and different content, and so do the micro-blogs, but the volume goes to Twitter because of it's ease of use and the size of my network there.
It brings back the good ol days of fun blogging. Send an email, they'll do the rest - no need to worry about plugins, site design, upgrades etc.
I'm already having fun with it... http://avcion.posterous.com
Great post btw... i thought it was interesting to see the frequency of microblogging
http://www.brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives...