Tumblr 101 (What is it and should I want one?)

It's social media month! So if you'll pardon the interruption in "How to Not to Write a Novel" I would like to share with you a little a Tumblr 101.

I stayed away from Tublr for the longest time. Despite having a mouth like a sailor in real life I was put off by the fact that every single Tublr seemed to be name F*ckyeah (insert noun here). So there was F*ckyeahbjds, F*yeah Illustarions, etc. But when Facebook started getting cluttered with ads and autoplay videos a friend of mine encouraged me to get one.

Tumblr is very much it's own animal. It is unlike any other social media I've ever been on. An author I know once said that Tumblr, like Pinterest, is more about curating content then a necessarily useful tool for self promotion, and I would have to agree. Unless you have some sort of stunningly original content to offer, are already a well established author it's probably not going to serve you as well as another format. However, the crowd on Tumblr is young. If you write YA, diversity of any kind, or want to try connecting with a younger audience, it might be worth your time to sign up and join the madness.

Unlike Pinterest it is politically charged as well. If you don't know what a privileged able-bodied cisgender white male is it might not be the place for you. If you are a cisgendered white male then I wish you luck... Tumblr is a place of diversity and politics. There are Tumblrs like Medieval PoC, Cosplaying While Black,  Black Fangirls Unite ,  and Writing with Color . There are a lot of resources for white people who want to write characters of greater diversity. Tumblr is not always a comfortable place, but if you can bear with your discomfort you will learn a lot about race relations, what the I and A are in LGBTQIA, and most importantly, yourself.

Now, it's not all serious political discourse and angst. I follow a TON of fashion blogs, illustration blogs, and illustrators to find inspiration for my own work. I follow my friends, and a number of literary agencies which regularly post. 

Best of all, if you (like me) don't LOVE updating your Facebook every five minutes, you can post your Tumblr activity on FB and Twitter- so it looks like you're updating more than you really are. I also have my Wordpress site send all my Wordpress posts to Tumblr and I can update Tumblr from my Deviant Art Gallery!

So, how does Tumblr work? After you sign up for an account- which is free, you can pick a theme, leave it as is, or customize your page if you have the know how. Then you find other Tumblrs pf interest to follow. Their content shows up on your "home" indicated by a house icon. If you see a photo or post you like you can 'heart it' which will add it to a list of posts you have hearted. If you want to share the content on your Tumblr- the one everyone sees (which is separate from your 'home') you can 'reblog' the post. Reblogging the post will share it on your Facebook and Twitter. You don't HAVE to share them, but they are options you can turn on in the settings, and then use or not as you choose. Unlike Pinterest the posts you heart are just kept in one long list by date. So you may end up scrolling awhile to find what you want.

At the same time you are reblogging content you like, other people can reblog posts that you make, sharing said post with their followers. There is also an option for "Asks" which you can turn on or off. Asks allow anyone looking over your blog to ask questions- either under their username or anonymously. But there are also plenty of trolls looking to Ask really insulting things. But it can be a good way to answer questions from fans. Just beware. Personally I leave the Ask off on my Tumblr because I don't want to get trolled.