INDUSTRY360 PRESENTS:
David Karp, CEO and Creator, Tumblr.
Industry: Technology; Start-up
Today, February 4, 2013, we (Lauren, Sydney and myself) sat down with David at Tumblr HQ in the Flatiron District of New York City. David is our first
victimfeature for Industry360. Every month we will feature a different professional or person of interest from various industries. To know what will be published when, check out our “How It Works” page.David was a delight to work with and he answered all of our questions. Stay tuned for the rest of the posts all about David Karp including his Gif!
Ladies and gentlemen of Tumblr, Industry360 is officially live!
Tracks
TUMBLR = MTV + PUBLIC ACCESS
TUMBLR IS THE LOVE CHILD OF PUBLIC ACCESS, MTV AND AL GORE.
ANYONE CAN GET A SHOW NOW.
AND IT’S CREATING ALTERNATIVE CULTURE FASTER THAN THE INTERNET CAN KEEP UP WITH.
FACEBOOK AND GOOGLE HAVE TRIED TO DRAW NEAT CIRCLES AROUND THE WEB.
BUT TUMBLR IS OFF SCRIBBLING IN THE CORNER WITH CRAYONS AND SNIFFING GLUE.
TUMBLR IS WHERE TODAY’S POP ARTISTS HANG OUT.
NO ONE UNDERSTANDS THEM YET, BUT THEY ARE BREEDING AND GROWING IN NUMBERS.
THEY ARE CREATING INCESTUAL SPAWNS OF EACH OTHER.
THEY ARE PHOTOCOPYING THEIR BACKSIDES.
AND THEY DON’T GIVE A DAMN WHAT YOU THINK.
THEY ARE INVENTING CULTURE AND CHANGING THE WORLD
BUT THEY DON’T CARE ABOUT THAT.
YOU CANNOT DRAW AN ORDERLY CIRCLE AROUND THEM.
MARKETERS CANNOT EVEN DIP THEIR TOES INTO THESE WATERS.
TUMBLR’S GUARDIAN PIRANAS WILL CHEW YOUR MEDDLING ADVERTISING HANDS DOWN TO THE BONE.
RESPECT THEM. GIVE THEM SPACE. AND JUST ENJOY WHAT THEY SPAWN.
I am now being followed by over 23,000 people on Pinterest. I guess my new routine of taking 15 minutes every morning to devote to pinning has started to pay off. I look forward to more people discovering my boards, and hope to keep giving them inspiring images. You can check out and follow my Pinterest profile here: http://pinterest.com/oylmiller/
Nike has joined the Tumblr party. Welcome to the neighborhood old friend! Link: nike.tumblr.com
I’ve been wondering when Nike would jump into the Tumblr game. Now that they have aligned their categories around Nike+, it looks like they will approach Tumblr in the same silo attack as they have realigned on their other platforms. On the Tumblr you can see all of the current Nike+ content and choose to view by hashtag which filter the content. I wonder if they will reblog other users’ content and join the community, or just treat the page as a one-stop portal to their archived content. Either way, nice to see them acknowledge the web’s best creative platform.
I was featured by Tumblr on their new curated Storyboard blog.
I got tweeted at by Tumblr. I’m putting that on my resume.
How Tumblr Changed My Life
I have always been a creative person and the Internet always seemed like an ideal place to share and explore creativity. However, before Tumblr, there was was no singular place that felt like a proper platform for showcasing creativity across different media.
The first time I started my Tumblr account four years ago, I felt like I was getting a glimpse into what the future of the internet would be like. I loved how simple it was and how intuitive it was to host all kinds of media. The simple top bar with the icons for text, audio, video, etc, captures my excitement every time I see it.
When I started using Tumblr, most people I knew didn’t know about it. A lot of them were introduced to the platform through following my blog. Over the years I have become a sort of ‘Tumblr expert’ in my circles. I’ve helped many of my friends start up their own. It’s been fascinating to see how different people make use of the platform.
I have a ton of different media properties on the internet. But the single most valuable one, is my main Tumblr. That is the link that I send people who want to know more about me. It expresses who I am the best. People can browse my last four years of creative output and understand what makes me tick. I have used my main Tumblr to tell my life story of living in Japan, to show my professional advertising work and to capture the sights and sounds that have moved me.
Over the past four years, I feel like other platforms have added bells and whistles to try and come closer to what Tumblr is. But none of the other platforms have gained on the simple promise that Tumblr never fails to deliver on: Tumblr is the best way to express your creative life online. There is no runner up in this category.
I’ve been using Tumblr consistently for 4 years, but I still feel like I am only scratching the surface of possibility with the platform.
The Creative Web Power Rankings
1. TUMBLR
Tumblr is the hub of the creative web. Their platform has found a way to intuitively include multimedia content creation from across the whole web. Tumblr’s image is of cat photos and animated GIFs, but the platform itself is much broader than that. You can shape your Tumblr to reflect yourself as a creative person.
2. TWITTER
Twitter is the best way I’ve found to attract a creative audience. Facebook can generate content views among your friends, but Twitter is public facing. When you create content and broadcast it through Twitter, there is no telling who it can reach. Audience building is a core requirement of any creative person looking for more opportunity. Twitter can get you there.
3. FACEBOOK
Facebook is great for contacting your pre-established network and base of loyal supporters. They can be your messengers and evangelists. Facebook Pages provides a way to establish a more outward facing front to your creative web presence.
4. LINKEDIN
LinkedIn has become a vital part of how I operate on the creative web. For some, LinkedIn is seen as little more than a resume, but I see it as a way to network with creative talent, share inspiration in groups and even make yourself available for job opportunities and collaborations.
5. GOOGLE+
Google+ is new to the game, and I’m still working on building my initial audience. But I’ve already seen the value of how it is set up. I don’t see Google+ as a competitor to Facebook. Google+ is a social network based on shared interests. Facebook is a social network based on existing relationships. I see Google+ as valuable moving forward as a way to connect with a vast network of creative individuals. The possibilities feel much more open than on Facebook.
6. KLOUT
Visiting Klout has become a part of my morning routine. At first it was just my early adopter friends on there, but now I’m seeing a lot wider base of people. Klout seems to be the place to go if you want to be known for something. I think this will prove valuable moving forward. On the creative web, it’s vital for people to know if you are a photographer, a director, a writer, etc. I see Klout as a way to help people connect the dots about you. It gives people a snapshot into what region of the creative web you hang out in. What conversations you engage in most.
7. INSTAGRAM
Instagram has redefined what a social network can be. They have effectively fired the warning cannons of Web 3.0. They are mobile, social, intuitive and now officially validated with their 1 billion dollar sale to Facebook. The upside is unlimited. On the surface it’s ‘just a photo-sharing app,’ but within its experience lies far more than that. It’s a way to share real time experience in a more visceral way that moves beyond the tired confines of status updates. It lets you connect lightly (likes) or deeply (comments and discussions that can unfurl beneath a single image). It’s searchable, it’s scaleable and for some reason, the photos always look great. Look for more companies to erect social networks around deceivingly simple premises, that engineer a ton of depth and emotion into the user experience.
