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Tumblr is a microblogging platform created in 2007 by David Karp and Marco Arment.
Tumblr is often referred to as a “microblogging” service because its features are designed for simplicity. Though the blogs offer users background themes and other design options, Tumblr is not as customizable as platforms like WordPress or Blogger. Tumblr allows users to post text, images, video, quotes, links or audio through a basic content management system. Tumblr also incorporates elements of social media, as users can follow each other or “reblog” items posted by others.
As of January 2012 Tumblr had 42 million blogs and more than 5 billion posts from users. According to May 2011 Quantcast data, it averaged 250 million page views per day. The site has raised a total of $125 million in venture-capital funds.
Tumblr and the media
Media organizations began establishing a presence on Tumblr in 2010. Much like Twitter and Facebook, news outlets began using Tumblr as an alternate channel for content and as a new means of connecting with readers. Newsweek was among the early adopters, using Tumblr as a place to promote stories in the magazine as well as links and images. By May 2011, at least 60 publications were active on Tumblr.
Newsweek’s Tumblr was also noteworthy for its voice, which was looser and more humorous in tone than the magazine. Mark Coatney, the Newsweek.com editor behind the effort, joined the staff of Tumblr in July 2010 as a “media evangelist” for the company.
Beginning in late 2010 Tumblr introduced features aimed at helping users discover more blogs that also had the consequence of aiding in the curation of news. Tumblr’s curated tag pages allow a select group of editors to tag posts in areas such as news and fashion, as well as event-specific tags related to news like the 2011 revolution in Egypt.
Tumblr has ventured into producing its own original media content, sending correspondents to the 2012 U.S. political conventions to post content to a Tumblr election site. It created a four-person editorial team called Storyboard in 2012 but dissolved it in 2013.
American Public Media is the second-largest producer and distributor of public radio in the United States, behind NPR, and the largest owner and operator of public radio stations. APM, based in St. Paul, Minn., produces national programs including A Prairie Home Companion and Marketplace. The company owns and operates the statewide Minnesota Public Radio network and…
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