Can Tumblr be considered a social networking site or is it a simply a blog ?
The answer to this questions rests not only within the site, it’s administrators and owners but rather on the intention of each user.
Having grown up using tumblr heavily, going back to 2011 throughout my years using it my intentions changed dramatically.
2011 saw many a post such as “FIRST TEN TO REBLOG GET A PROMO reblogs only, no likes i check” “Follow train, 1. Follow everyone on the list above you2. Reblog this post and add your url3. watch the followers pour in!”
It is worth noting that at this time tumblr was still considered ‘underground’ (as much as a rapidly growing, overly popular site can be). At these time it was ‘uncool’ to talk about tumblr in public, it certainly was frowned upon to discuss it on ‘popular’ social media sites such as twitter or Facebook. It was almost as if people wanted followers so desperately but only if they were ‘organically’ grown from tumblr alone as it was considered to be for the ‘marginalised’. This was a theme that ran throughout tumblr at this time but the most popular posts were of young caucasian girls with coloured hair and sparkly dresses...
By 2013 I was interacting with other blogs via messages and we had a genuine relationship through mutual interests and support where we felt we were in a safe space. Interacting with each others posts, including loves, reblogging and further more contacting each other regarding what we were posting.
Both these instances would very much be considered social networking, in almost what would be it’s purest form. It is connecting with communities of a like mind. In these times of my tumblr I would consider it very much a social networking site. In fact it was through one of these online connections that I came to study Media and Communications, as someone I followed was studying it as it was time for subject selection in high school. This does illustrate so perfectly just how powerful a social networking tool tumblr can be.
On the flip side 2014 and ‘15 my tumblr was really used as a personal, amateur-poetry, mind dump blog. I changed my URL making it tricky for someone who wasn’t previously following me to find my tumblr and even if you were following me it would be very tricky. I erased any name or images of myself from my bio and tumblr homepage, including icon. These years saw the very same tumblr, with the same archival history being treating in a very traditional blogging style.
These personal antidotes perfectly describe the differentiating relationship the user can have with their tumblr and exemplify how the intention the user sets is individualised and dictates whether or not tumblr be considered a social networking site or a simply a blog