Yahoo for the Tumblr Community
Are you sick and tired of seeing all of these big city slicker tumblr meet ups?
Be there this Friday, May 23.
5 years ago, Marco reblogged this post from my blog to the Tumblr staff blog. It was about a meetup that I organized, which only 2 other people attended (thanks Dylan and Brian). But shortly thereafter I got to meet Marco, and then John, Jared, Marc, Thomas, and even David. I also got to meet Jeff and Garrett, creators of the first Tumblr mobile app. I’ll never forget when I met Jared and he heard of my music tumblelog back in the day - The Butter Room. I thought we were Tumblr famous before there was even such a thing. I guess I’m name dropping, but my point here is that the Tumblr staff were one of the main reasons why I’ve always loved Tumblr.
But they are just a part of a large and wonderful community I look forward to interacting with every day.
Tumblr is a super simple platform. The reblog feature was genius. It’s meant for creative individuals and it’s beautifully designed, But what made and continues to make Tumblr are the people.
It’s a platform that brings out true emotion because its so easy to post, but much more expressive than 140 characters, a status update, filtered photo, or checkin.
It’s also so positive. When my oldest daughter had heart surgery 4 years ago, the reaction and support from people I had never met was amazing. Just days before her surgery, the Obama inaugural blog posted my photo of her and then Fred Wilson reblogged it, both unaware about that photo’s double meaning. I felt Tumblr famous again, but more importantly that little act of reblog meant a whole lot to me during a very stressful time.
Then there was the time I discovered Streampad for Tumblr. I had to reach out and thank the man who created it. Because of this gift to the Tumblr community, I got to know Dan along with Charles, Jess, Marshall, and the awesome exfm team that he helped start shortly thereafter.
Then there are the friendships that have really grown over the years thanks to Tumblr. Gary, Kirk, and Matt are just a few examples. I feel very fortunate that I’ve been able to become friends with these guys and I have Tumblr to thank.
Finally there are the people I’ve followed for years and vice versa who I’ve never met (and might never will), but get a lot of joy out of “seeing” every day. You know who you are - briancolligan, kimbaland, twohippiechic, marksbirch, newspeedwayboogie, stormsequalrainbows, whitneymcn, guy, ianbroyles, sarahchristine, phenthouse - I could go on and on.
But when someone I follow stops posting on Tumblr, I’m a little sad inside. I can always follow that person elsewhere, but it just isn’t the same experience. Twitter, Foursquare, Facebook, Instagram, nor LinkedIn can replace it.
I have a lot of reasons to root for Tumblr. My business sells premium themes and we’ve seen an increase in brands contacting us for custom Tumblr experiences. So, I’m obviously very interested in the Yahoo! rumors.
But I’m a user first and that’s the main reason why I care what happens to it. I’m skeptical if Yahoo! does take it over. It’s super easy to be skeptical for obvious reasons, but I think it’s a good time for Tumblr to sell. I know if it does happen, I’ll continue to use it because none of this news will have an impact on my use of Tumblr.
Only you, the people I enjoy “hearing from” each day, will have an impact. Once that stops, then I’m bound to as well because that’s the #1 reason why I’m still here after 5 years.
Snail Mail
I was filling out a contact form at the vet’s office yesterday. I looked at the question, “Would you prefer to receive reminders via email?” and thought about it seriously for the first time in 10-15 years.
My answer was no.
Even though most of my snail mail is junk mail, my inbox is very manageable. I can go through all my snail mail once a week in about 10 minutes. I can’t process some emails in that time.
Have I’ve reached a point where I prefer receiving snail mail over email? I’m not sure, but if you want to get my attention, snail mail is the way to go.
No Repeats
I have been slowly tweaking my use of various social networks so that each one has a specific purpose that is not duplicated elsewhere. I’m sure I will continue to tweak because I am a constant tweaker, but I feel like I have a good set up going on right now.
“What It Takes to Create a Start-Up Community” via The New York Times
What, no Nome, Alaska? But seriously, while I cannot quibble too much with this map as that is where much of the VC activity occurs, there are plenty of whitespaces where startup are happening in a big way.
For example, where is Utah which has had an active tech scene for a couple of decades? Why no representation south of the Mason-Dixon line? There are plenty of startups in Atlanta and Raleigh, while areas around UVA and VT are perking up. Michigan, once dominated by the auto industry, is experiencing a startup innovation Renaissance in Detroit and Ann Arbor. Even places you may not think of as tech hotspots like Des Moines and Montana are showing an uptick in tech startup activity.
As I maintained before, it does not matter where you start. New York may be hot, Silicon Valley might be king, Boston may be the old stalwart, but there is no requirement to move yourself to one of these locales. You can make it happen anywhere.
This is a sweet app.
Jesus Christ, Silicon Valley →
New favorite tumblr.
The Truth About Entrepreneurs: Twice As Many Are Over 50 As Are Under 25 | PBS NewsHour →
Myths abound about the young entrepreneurs who dreamed up crazy ideas while in their dorm room, raised millions of dollars in venture capital, and started billion-dollar businesses. But these are just the outliers. The typical entrepreneur is more like Albert — a middle-aged professional who learns about a market need and starts a company with his own savings.
How I Became an Entrepreneur →
I was out at a HackCville event a couple weeks ago, which is a local organization dedicated to helping students of UVA become a part of the entrepreneurial experience. It’s a great community.
I had a lot of students asking me about my business and experiences as an entrepreneur. It reminded me of two things:
1. I need to give back more to the entrepreneurial community, especially to those who are starting their career in my field or looking to change careers.
2. Every story of entrepreneurship is special and should be shared.
Over the years, I’ve blogged here and there about my experiences as a small business owner - typically when I get a hair up my ass. But now I’m going to repurpose my home on the web and make a concerted effort to blog about specific entrepreneurial topics and experiences that I hope will help someone. This is post #1.
Elsewhere