Tumblr, what is it good for? Let's start backwards

http://www.vimeo.com/1181715?pg=embed&sec=1181715 (satire on tumblr, a critcism on microbloggin)

>> RESENTATION TODAY...which mind you is just meant to show class where we're at, and u know what, we should ask them what do they think this space would be good for tumblr, what kind of stories<<>> let's just clean this section up abit..add more links our own words..we'll show class our tumblr page so far... and some discussions. talk about reflexive practice visible on tumblr as well as using it as a way to tell multi-linear stories..fragmentation. maybe a great place for the fragment-aesthetic, abstration, which supports our shorter and shorter attention spans these days.

MAKING SENSE OF THE FOG:

Ok we had a chat in the editing class before and this now I think we've managed to clarify our project: (I think what's happened is that we have totally changed our topic and thats where things got confusing)

We are looking at the Evolution of Online Communication and seeing how people have used the internet to share ideas & come together, over time. (This is how we're tackling the Evolution theme)

The Evolution of Online Communication looks a bit like this, (trend-wise):

Websites => Blogs => Social Networks (Web 2.0 Platforms like Facebook, Myspace, Youtube, Flickr) => Micro-blogging (Also a Social Network/Web 2.0 platform, Twitter & Tumblr)

So Micro-blogs are a hot new development, ie. evolution of the way people connect to each other, and rather than making a website that talks about the evolution of online communciation, why not use Tumblr itself.

Tumblr is alot like a 'covergence platform' (it brings in elements of Youtube, Flickr, Blogging) & also Users can be connected to like-minded people. (This is how we're tackling the Convergence Culture theme)

Because of these qualities, Tumblr can be many things, there are also things it doesnt do very well.

Tumblr isn't perfect, in our research part we address it's short comings. Perhaps we can predict what the next development in online communications will be as well..

Our Tumblr page could very well be filled with old archival footage mashed and juxtaposed against new vidoes that ppl have made now to get across the evolution theme more strongly.

But we're going to tackle the problem of 'how would a visitor to your tumblr page actually know it was about evolution?' by making a Big link at the top that explains our project in a summary. we'll also have links to our formal research.

/////Does this make things more clear? And how does it sound in the first place for the project?

1.0) So how did the Social evolve Online. How has the internet and all its associated platforms evolve communication? Or did we evolve the internet to suit the way we wanted to communicate. First though lets characterise the main traits of each online evolutionary phase that we mentioned above.

1) What’s good about this platform specifically? - what have people said about it.

this is quite a short, but concise look at Tumblr, from a user perspective

http://mills.tumblr.com/post/29729116/tumblrs-social-network

Quite an interesting and detailed interview with the young creator of Tumblr, David Karp

http://www.mediabistro.com/articles/cache/a10281.asp

2) How are people using it? What are they doing what are they showing, what are they sharing? (post links)

3) Compare and contrast to other forms eg. traditional websites, blogs, twitter, facebook, myspace. ...CONVERGENCE??

After our late night chat Angeline, I found this really interesting article on Facebook, it turns 5 this year, and how the new layout is really dividing the audience as it's layout is very much like twitter and many mature users or users that are using facebook in a business networking context are finding it "juvenile" Facebook at 5 - Is it growing up too fast?

This is a simple but interesting look at who is using what type of social networking and why.

http://beenovation.blogspot.com/2009/02/twitter-facebook-tumblr-and-all-that.html

Interestingly, sites like Facebook and Myspace are labelled social networking sites, however that’s not what they are often used for. Most users of these sites use them for socialising within their pre-existing social networks, rather than networking.

Friendster was one of the earliest ‘social networking sites’ designed for online dating. While it was an initial success, it came into disarray when some artistic minded people began creating fake characters or profiles. The Friendster company attempted to remove these people from accessing the site around the same time that indie rock bands saw the site as a potential means of connecting with fans. It wasn’t long before they too were banned from the site, which also saw many of their adoring fans leave too. The problem with Friendster is that it didn’t understand the power of networks.

MySpace is mainly used by teenagers and is all about showing off a persona. Many people spend a lot of time decorating their profile pages and filling out their ‘About Me’ section in order to create some sense of who they are or how they want to be presented. The number of “friends” you have is also an important factor of using MySpace. It’s basically one big popularity contest.

Unlike MySpace, Facebook is much more self contained. While it was initially created as a Harvard-only website, it took the social networking world by storm when it was opened to the pubic in 2006. Reports say that the average Facebook user is between the ages of 25-34. Adults and youth use social networking sites in very different ways. While teenagers use MySpace as a chance to be seen and heard, adults tend to use Facebook as a chance to communicate with others, especially those from the past. Twitter is one of the newest crazes at the moment, most popular with the adult market. Unlike Facebook and MySpace which are primarily used for communicating within a single community, Twitter is about communicating within a large public sphere, which is the reason why many teenagers have shied away from it, preferring to stick with their social networks.

Then consider....What kind of stories work in this form?
eg. Multi /single narrative ?
Long drawn out episodic stories? Or shorter '24hr' stories?

How do communities get created around these platforms?
Community interaction? Level of interaction and participation, strength lies in connecting like minded people, accessing ideas .

Do critical deeper research of what makes this platform effective ie. What works well for it, then work out what story we can tell from it.

CONVERGENCE CULTURE THREAD
Build the theoretical framework around it, where convergence culture comes in. How does it express convergence culture. (I personally think that this form itself is an expression of convergence culture it its materiality - combining flickr, facebook, twitter, youtube). You can post UGC on it...it supports that, gives a platform to it. Online Communities...(mim get that book out)

EVOLUTION THREAD
Web 1.0, web 2.0, evolution of social networks, maybe evolution of media sharing/distrubution. Jenkins says the media doesnt change, the distribution does. yes no?

Need to focus on the evolution of SOMETHING....

Well done why not start from this premise of why this form, this platform is so hot right now..what did it arise out of. Social networking – the evolution of.

So ask find whats it good for? What kind of story? Then tell this kind of story in this space.