This analysis is pretty generic...I'm not sure what real insight it offers specific to Tumblr. One of the things it doesn't go into detail is the actual user-to-user interaction...which is extremely limited. I've been using Tumblr for years and I still don't know how to directly comment on someone's content without reblogging it...or how to reply to someone else who has commented on my content.
Also, the OP doesn't touch on the most unique part of Tumblr, which is its not-quite-a-blog but more-than-a-tweet niche. Its format is very limited...you have several types of posts to choose from (photo, quote, text, video) and when you pick a format, you are stuck to a rigid form...for photos, you enter a caption and upload a photo (or photoset)...and that's it. You can hack around the constraints but it is difficult...and yet, this ends up making tumblr more inviting, because of the lack of setup involved. Constraints are freedom, sometimes.
>> "I've been using Tumblr for years and I still don't know how to directly comment on someone's content without reblogging it"
I think reblogging doubles as a commenting system. If you look at the original version of the post you reblogged it will show that you reblogged it with your added commentary. Most themes also make it easy to add Disqus just by adding your Disqus site name.
There is also the 'ask' feature which allows for more direct user interaction, and I believe there is an option on one of the post types to pose it as a question and allow users to respond.
Yes, but disqus isn't easily accessible from the dashboard, and most of my followers seem to just see my posts from the dashboard...and of course, if someone reblogs the post, disqus (from my end) won't caper any feedback,
It's a pretty stilted system for feedback...but maybe it's by design, that tumblr is more about just sharing and disseminating content. At least that's been my perspective
If you select the text option though, you're free to add html if you click the <html> button.
Also, while it can be limited in themes, you have full control over the HTML and CSS, so really there's not much you couldn't do that you would need to for a simple blog.
Reblogging is commenting - and it makes your blog an entry point into the conversation, and gives it a more public and permanent home than a comment thread on somebody else's blog.
Right...but I don't want to fill my blog with someone else's content just to comment on it...also, I don't think there's a way to comment on my own post, because it is technically reblogging my own post, which seems to be blocked.
I may be missing the obvious reply feature here...but it's never been intuitive, which is exacerbated by the different interfaces presented by the dashboard and blog interface...not saying this is necessary a bad feature of Tumblr, but it's definitely an important quirk
You're not missing anything obvious. "Can't reblog yourself" is a typically tumblr annoying quirk. But you can reblog to reply in-thread to another person's reply.
Tumblr teaches you to not care so much about what's on your blog as you would if it was a wordpress or something. Reblog away, everyone else is.
Just download Missing E or XKit. Both enable you to reblog yourself. XKit seems to have done a better job of keeping up with the tumblr changes, but I used Missing E for a while. Both get the job done.
One thing that I feel Tumblr does better than most social networks is discoverability.
My experience is that as long as they are relevant/focused enough, tags can actually work. One can discover good content and interesting people by following the relevant tag, and if you tag your post well, (at least some) people will see it (and like, reblog it, whatever). Because of that you can login without knowing a single other user on the service, and still quickly start to interact with like-minded people.
Somehow, it's not true for all topics, though. Tech related tags are fairly empty.
I don't mean to be negative, but this is hardly a 'UX analysis.' All three "insights" -- ability to have a 'hidden identity', firehose approach to content, and follower count as a valued metric -- are also applicable to Twitter.
I'd argue a much more interesting look at Tumblr would take into account:
- how corporate tumblrs are incredibly effective compared to often-terrible corporate Twitters (part of this is sort of predestination: if a person is smart/savvy enough to have a Tumblr, he'll probably have a higher level of social media acumen overall)
- the theming system of tumblr. before tumblr became large enough that it's userbase was attractive on its own merits, the customizability was a huge selling point, and attracted the graphic/web vertical to contribute both as developers and users
- the overall shift of tumblr from production to consumption, with stuff like the in-dashboard compose form and the relatively new emphasis on reblogging
On your first point, do you think the corporate tumblr's have lead to commercial success? All I've seen so far as far as company tumblr's go are Denny's and National Geographic so I don't think I could make a valid assertion on the subject. I know that company Twitters usually seem very hollow so I'd love to be pointed to some great company tumblrs if you have them! I thought about your second point, but I personally determined that the intense amount of customizability wasn't a real reason for tumblr's success with its user base. Many tumblrs use the same 20 themes and those who overly-customize it lead down a MySpace-esque road. I've actually found myself being more annoyed with the immense amount of customizations. Please remember that I wrote this in an attempt to understand why users used tumblr, not discussing every aspect of the site. Finally, I joined a month ago so I imagine I missed the "overall shift" of posts, so I apologize for being unable to write about that!
Definitely the theming is a huge aspect to why I use tumblr. The site also has a tremendous userbase, very creative people from all walks of life. And many users will run more than 1 blog focused on different topics. Follow enough people and you can build an incredible dashboard which updates every 5-10 minutes with new content.
Or some more professional users have the ability to stick with a basic design, keep a low follower count, and publish resources/important news updates. It's a great system for anybody getting into blogging or just interested in trying a new method of social media sharing.
This article raises several fairly depth-less points, as a frequent user of an anonymous (but tech related) Tumblr blog I feel fairly confident in giving a short analysis of one of the key points it misses:
The first thing I tend to notice is the amount of damaging or "triggering" posts, anything from eating disorders to mental health, depression, sexual fantasies and more. The anonymity of the site allows a lot of people to "come out of their shells" and start to talk about what's on their mind.
Unfortunately, when you take away the shame of public and open speech, you tend to find that the worst parts of humanity start to see through - there are entire blogs devoted to losing weight, anorexia and pictures of women with impossible physiques, creating a circle jerk culture of unhappiness and lustful ideology.
Of course, in regards to user experience, the content is user created, so if the prevalence of these kinds of posts says anything it is that this is what the people who use the site want to see, judging by the tens or hundreds of thousand of re-blogs they tend to receive.
However, if you ignore the seediness of the anonymous world for a moment, you can also see the good in the site, there is a lot of art which would otherwise be hidden from the world, beautiful poetry and pictures and there seems to be an inherent nature in the people to stick with each other, giving one another support and advice whenever they need it.
This can be seen especially in terms of suicide and depression, where there are people posting about their self harm troubles and other people sending them "asks" to support them and tell them it will all be okay, it becomes somewhat of a massive online support group. These people don't feel like they can talk to people in the real world, their counselors and family don't understand so they come online for their fix of advice and help, to actually feel wanted and loved and cared for.
This is something which websites like Facebook and Twitter tend to miss, for better or worse, our profiles there are normally tied to our identities, we can't talk about these private things because then people in our real lives will know our most inner most fears and troubles, the sick people behind our normal exterior, so they use Tumblr to express this part of them.
I thank you for the feedback and the great insight but I'm not terribly sure how I miss your point? The first point discusses how the users are able to shed their exterior, show who they truly feel they are, and that it's not possible to do this on Facebook or Google+. Sure, I didn't paint it in the possibly-self-destructive sense you did but I thought the point was conveyed? I'd love to hear how you think I could've done better! This is my first time having the HN community notice something I've done and I deeply value the community's (usually very intelligent) input!
Tumblr is about picking the "what" by picking the "who". Unfollow the jerks, follow the people who post interesting things, and soon enough you will be plugged into a community of people who share your values, including about trigger warnings.
>> "One of the first things I learned about Tumblr was that it's not like Facebook, Google+, or Twitter in that it's a "social network" mostly for strangers."
Is this not also the case for Twitter and Google+? Most people use Twitter to follow news, celebrities, and taste makers. And with Google+ it's likely you're friends and family aren't all on it and with Circles it's meant to be used to follow more than just that select group of people.
Edit:
>> "Tumblr did something remarkably intelligent; they made your follower count private."
I think that's a very good point. It prevents users feeling 'embarrassed' that they don't have enough followers. I'm sure Twitter sees huge numbers of people drop off after a few days because they don't have any followers - it's something I've seen amongst my own friends. I would argue though the followers aren't much of a reward system. I feel much more rewarded when I see my post get reblogged and quickly pick up steam getting reblogged by people that don't follow me. I think reblogs are the main reward system, followed by likes, and finally followers.
Bad things about tumblr: the block facility doesn't stop them stalking you or reblogging or you seeing their reblogs indirectly. They keep futzing with the UI in trivial ways that are so far from their major UI annoyances it isn't funny. Why the heck are asks not rebloggable? Why such a consciously limited mechanism for asks? Why are replies broken? And so on.
Sorry to add the the negativity, but no screenshots is not very good. How can we expect to take your UX critique seriously if you don't provide good UX for your own users? Screenshots are an essential part of any UX analysis.
Use the screenshots to show what Tumblr does well or not so well. Use them to show how other sites do it well and what Tumblr should copy/implement.
Also, the OP doesn't touch on the most unique part of Tumblr, which is its not-quite-a-blog but more-than-a-tweet niche. Its format is very limited...you have several types of posts to choose from (photo, quote, text, video) and when you pick a format, you are stuck to a rigid form...for photos, you enter a caption and upload a photo (or photoset)...and that's it. You can hack around the constraints but it is difficult...and yet, this ends up making tumblr more inviting, because of the lack of setup involved. Constraints are freedom, sometimes.