There is a distinct lack of writers on Tumblr

roamin:

reblogged from shutupinternet:

There’s such a distinct lack of text content on Tumblr that breaks even 100 words in a post, it’s pretty sad. I’m sure there are some fantastic writers out there, some fantastic thinkers too but where is their representation?

As I write this there are 1.2 million Tumblelogs, with “writer” being the ninth most popular tag and “writing” being the 18th most popular tag. That means there are a significant amount of writers on here, correct?

Nope.

The most popular Tumblelog classified under “writer” has three pictures of Miley Cyrus on its first page and a total of one hundred and forty three words. To anyone who writes significant amounts on Tumblr, like myself, frankly that is pretty insulting.

In a world where newspapers are folding due to distinct lack of funding, subscribers and new favor of online-only content, Tumblr is the perfect platform for writers: You write, you build a following, an audience, and anytime you publish you automatically have a group that auto-subscribes to your content with the possibility of reaching further once they choose to reblog and comment.

Tumblr, support your writers. Help add a text element to this picture-heavy platform that we have here.

I don’t wish for this to sound angry or rude, I just wish people wouldn’t try to change the nature of what something clearly is.

Tumblr is not a blogging platform. Tumblr is not a newspaper. Any object that can display text is the “perfect platform for writers.” Telephone poles, sidewalks, the backs of hands all can accept text.

Anyone confused might need to know that Tumblr (the service) was highly inspired by the ‘first’ tumble log, Projectionist. A site that has featured small snippets of content. Just because this particular service become popular, and you’ve found it convenient to write in, doesn’t make it blogspot. I’ve found it handy to post as few words as possible in, but that doesn’t make it Flickr, or a replacement for a physical photo album either.

Just as twitter isn’t Facebook and Facebook isn’t MyFriendSpaceSter (or such), not everything has to be an echo of some other medium or fit someone’s idea of what a platform should be when the majority of content creators in that platform are very clearly showing their preference to make it, still, a service for sharing single photos, blurbs, and links. Having subscribers is a function of content syndication as well, you can have that feature on any website by creating an RSS/Atom feed! Or you could have a mailing list that goes out to interested parties. There is no shortage of ways to get your content seen when you feel a 15 year old in skimpy clothing is taking away your attention.

You’re writing, good. You’re taking part in the participatory nature of the web on the site of being a content creator. You’ve already won the battle, but the overall war is all about making sure you’re still valid once the medium disappears and you’ve only got your content to your name to put into the new system.

If you’re only popular for posting celebrity photos on one website, and the website disappears, you likely weren’t providing the value you believed you were. I think this is well over a hundred words now.