The Problem with Tumblelogging: A Response
Prashanth writes a piece worth skimming, but the main point is this:
For the unacquainted, Tumblr is something of a del.icio.us dump with a design […] It’s not only that that bothers me now; I love del.icio.us. The problem is that Tumblr advertises their platform as “the easiest way to share yourself.” That’s a lie.
Well-put responses to this can already be found, but what Prashanth is railing against is the stereotypical tumblelog. And while I think he’s right to take these types of tumblelogs to task, he’s over-generalizing.
What it boils down to is this: Tumblr, and tumblelogging in general, reduces the cost of entry to “blogging,” for better or worse. Specifically, Tumblr’s bookmarklet makes keeping a tumblelog/blog so easy that it doesn’t make sense not to have one, and it’s this low cost to entry that you results in something that resembles a “del.icio.us dump with a design.”
The way I see it: blogging is easy; content is hard. As long as you create quality content, your choice of publishing platform is irrelevant.
