Tumblr: Social networking site or blog?
Blurred Lines
It can be argued that all blogs ARE a form of social network in themselves due to their ability to interact and connect with wider publics through links, hashtags, images and groups - however these functions act as affordances to the blog rather than a blogs sole purpose which is to deliver dramaturgical content.
This content can be shaped to suit any aesthetic or theme using Tumblr. Users can upload video, generate GIF’s, post photos to share their experience, comment on an issue and basically disseminate any information unto the world that they wish. It therefore becomes a personalised page of self-expression, a website whereby users can shape their online identity and connect with the broader virtual community.
But how is this different from social networking platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter? It isn’t really. I mean these platforms offer chronological content, assortments of pictures and videos & allow people to create posts and comment on other profiles just like Tumblr does, yet we don’t call these blogs.
“A blog, at its most basic, is just a personal home page in diary format” - (Tim O’Reilly). Tumblr still adheres to this basic principle, it’s just that blogging has evolved since its humble beginnings in 1994 with Justin Hall’s Links.net. Fast forward to 2019 and blogging is still blogging, it just had added affordances such as instant messaging, profiles and following links in attempt to create a more holistic experience for the user. Users can see who is online, who’s posted what recently AND who hasn’t. This is not exclusive to Tumblr, many services are increasingly incorporating affordances to become more social. These sites aren’t particularly social networking sites but they do carry a strong social element.
Today, the world over, we are becoming more avid producers of content and more frequently being enveloped in online participatory culture. Through the tool of smartphones we choose to create content for our Tumblr blog or social networking accounts in an effort to shape our identity. These outlets become our stage in which we are to perform (Gaffman 1956). We showcase our edited and meticulously chosen selves to be front-stage, given showtime on our personalised pages. It is an amazing feat to have such freedom of expression when tailoring a page to suit your online identity however there is another edge to this sword… How much of ourselves online is really us? Are we being completely honest with ourselves?
Dana Boyd speaks about the concept of being “always-on”; emphasising how our self-identity is being constructed through accessibility to social and mobile technologies. She explains how we are now more connected than ever before, even when we are sleeping and logged out of all social media we still have a presence as we have breadcrumbs and trails leading from link to link. Tumblr’s app to notify your phone directly, active display, instant messages being forwarded to your inbox and notifications filling up your dashboard is a prime example of this.
The boundaries that define what is a blog and what is a social networking site have become blurred. There are now blue-tick approved celebrities on Instagram whose profession is entitled “Personal Blogger”. Ultimately, at the end of the day, Tumblr operates as an evolved blog with many added social media affordances. So many it can be considered both a social networking site AND a blog.
