tumblr getting started cd cww13

Tumblr: Getting Started

CWW--2013Cherie Dargancheriedargan@gmail.com

Overview

We will take a look at Tumblr,

talk about why you need a blog on Tumblr,

show you how to set up your Tumblr account,

how to customize your blog,

how to post (and the types of posts),

and how to connect with others on Tumblr.

Tumblr: What is it?

A micro blogging tool, like Twitter, with a variety of formats for creating posts.

Posts include text, photos, links, quotes, audio & video.

Tumblr is visually engaging.

Words of Praise for Tumblr

"Tumblr, the visual blogging platform, is a hidden gem of the blogging world. For organizations with visual content, a younger demographic (though not a requirement), and a commitment to regular blogging, Tumblr may be the perfect blogging channel.

Tumblr is low on the time-commitment scale; posting a photo with a caption, “reblogging” content from another blog, or adding a short phrase or image ideal content genre within the Tumblr culture. "

http://communityorganizer20.com/2013/03/06/five-nonprofit-organizations-connecting-with-tumblr/

FIVE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS CONNECTING WITH TUMBLR. 06 March 2013

Two kinds of activity on Social Media: Creators and Curators

A report by Pew Internet Research (August 2012)

• 46% of adult internet users post original photos or videos online that they themselves have created. We call them creators.

• 41% of adult internet users take photos or videos that they have found online and repost them on sites designed for sharing images with many people. We call them curators.

Overall, 56% of internet users do at least one of the creating or curating activities we studied and 32% of internet users do both creating and curating activities.

http://pewinternet.org/Commentary/2012/March/Pew-Internet-Social-Networking-full-detail.aspx

Why use it to create a blog?

Tumblr is a great tool for writers: you can get a blog up in no time and spend a few minutes a day developing it, instead of considerably more time with a regular blog.

As noted, you can post original content, link to content, or repost/reblog something you see on another Tumblr blog.

Because it is easy to use, you're more likely to post frequently. I’ve been using it for over six years and love it!

You'll also be part of something big: According to Tumblr’s home page, there are over 114 million blogs on Tumblr, with over 52 billion posts.

.

How much time do people spend on social media sites?

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/igeneration/how-long-do-we-spend-on-social-media-sites-infographic/15415By Charlie Osborne for iGeneration |

February 28, 2012 -- 14:30 GMT An Infographic.

While Facebook still dominates the social media scene, Tumblr and Pinterest have captured a lot of attention and people are spending more time on these sites.

So, let's get started!

Find your Focus

My Tumblr is focused on Educational Technology and I follow a number of Tumblr blogs on the same topic.

Think about your passion—is it genealogy, gardening, or grandchildren? Reflect that in your title and the "blurb" you will write.

I will show you how you will share this information with others as you customize your Tumblr page.

Step one – Set up your account with Tumblr

https://www.tumblr.com/login

Click on the Sign up link at the bottom of the screen.

Choose a password and username and include your email address.

Step two -- Tell us what you love

Click on the categories you see and Tumblr finds blogs you may want to follow.

Step three--find friends to follow

Next, you can choose to let Tumblr search your Facebook friends list or Gmail contacts, to see if anyone you know is already on Tumblr. You can also skip this step.

Step four -- find Apps for your devices

Next, Tumblr asks you if you have any of the following devices:

• an iPhone or iPad

• An Android device

• Windows phone

There are Tumblr apps to download for each device. (Again, you can skip this step)

See your blog--and dashboard

Now you see your blog (and posts from anyone you followed, by clicking on categories & choosing to follow specific blogs)

This is the dashboard: see the icons for posts.

Guide to icons

Types of Posts: Text, Photo, Quote, Link, Chat, Audio, Video

Home: your account

Envelope: private messages

?: Questions/Help

Gear: Settings

Circle with line on top: Logout

More icons to know

You may see a post featured at the side that you do not follow. This is like a showcase.

Plus sign--follow

Two arrows, going opposite ways -- reblog or repost

Heart -- like

Searching Tumblr

Use the search bar to look for blogs with similar topics--or Find blogs.

Click on Posts (see number of total posts) to see ONLY your posts

Click on Following to see who all you're following, or to search by email, URL, or username.

Click on Followers to see who is following you.

So, let's customize your blog

Click on the gears/settings

On account, you will see your email & password (you can change your password here). You can choose how to edit your posts. Save your choices.

Dashboard: check items on the list of options. Save.

Email: do you want to be notified if new followers? Save.

Customize Your Blog, cont.

Click on the final item: the name of your blog.

Then click on avatar to select your picture & upload.

Next, find the word customize under theme.

This brings up a series of boxes at the left, letting you pick a theme (design).

Under that, you can edit the name of your blog and write a brief statement about the purpose of your blog. You can also tweak your theme's colors and styles.

Don't forget to save changes & close.

Now, let's add some content

Here are a few Ideas--

Post a brief introduction of yourself.

Post a picture that means something to you & helps capture the topic or focus of your blog.

Post a link to a web resource that you found that relates to your topic.

You use the dashboard page to compose your posts, using the various templates.

You are not restricted to a certain number of characters, as you are with Twitter.

If you post a picture, add a caption to explain it.

To See your Blog,

Look at the dashboard page and find the name of your blog & its URL.

Click on the URL to launch your blog, as it appears to others.

You can also click on your photo/avatar to launch the page.

·

Have a question?

Click on the ? to go to the Tumblr Help.

http://www.tumblr.com/help

Want to explore topics?

http://www.tumblr.com/explore

A list of tags

Check out my Tumblr--and a few more!

http://cherieedtech.tumblr.com/

Cherie’s Tumblr page

http://wilwheaton.tumblr.com/

Wil Wheaton

http://techedblog.tumblr.com/

TechEdBlog

http://yeahwriters.tumblr.com/

YeahWriters

http://libraryofahipster.tumblr.com/

Library of a hipster

http://sparkauthors.tumblr.com/

Sparkauthors

http://writersrelief.tumblr.com/

Writers Relief

http://newsweek.tumblr.com/

Newsweek

http://thewritewire.tumblr.com/

The Write Wire

Questions? Need help?

Cherie Dargan

cheriedargan@gmail.com

Catch me between sessions and we will find a few minutes to do some troubleshooting.