Blogging Site Tumblr Makes Itself the News - The popular social blogging site Tumblr is hiring writers and editors to cover the world of Tumblr. - Chris Mohney, a senior vice president for content at BlackBook Media, will be the site’s editor in chief. Jessica Bennett, a senior writer and editor at Newsweek and The Daily Beast, will be the executive editor and, she said, a kind of Tumblr correspondent.
“Basically, if Tumblr were a city of 42 million,” Ms. Bennett said, referring to the number of Tumblr blogs that exist, “I’m trying to figure out how we cover the ideas, themes and people who live in it.”
Their work — both documenting the Tumblr service and marketing it to users — will appear on the Web site’s staff blog and on a separate part of tumblr.com that has not been set up yet, a Tumblr spokeswoman said Wednesday.
Writers and editors will cover the content of Tumblr blogs and their creators, with the idea of keeping users on the site longer.
The moves by Tumblr are one way to tap into all of the free content that users upload to social networking Web sites. Twitter, trying another way, recently created a section of its site that lists stories that are popular among its users, with links to articles and related Twitter messages. And Facebook recently hired Daniel Fletcher, a 2009 graduate of Northwestern University’s journalism school, to be its managing editor.
Mr. Fletcher, who started work at Facebook this week, said that he would be “building out and creating new content” for Facebook’s channels and pages. One example is Facebook Live, a video streaming channel that occasionally shows conversations with world leaders, celebrities and other newsmakers.
By creating in-house content, social Web sites can increase the amount of time that users spend on their sites, thereby increasing their value to advertisers.
Andrew McLaughlin, a vice president at Tumblr, said that in telling stories about its users, the company wanted Mr. Mohney and Ms. Bennett, the only two hires for the time being, to “do real journalism and analysis, not P.R. fluff.”
“Of course, it’s obviously in our self-interest as a company to surface more compelling stories about creators on Tumblr; at the same time, though, we think Chris and Jessica will be able to do so in ways that embody professional rigor and first-rate writing,” he said in an e-mail message.
There are many Tumblr blogs that could be covered, and some have already won broad attention. Last fall, for instance, a blog that posted stories of hardship and titled itself “We Are the 99 Percent” was widely cited in the media as Occupy Wall Street protests spread across the country. Other blogs have chronicled health scares, political campaigns and foreign conflicts. Many brands have set up Tumblr blogs to attract interest and show a more lighthearted side of their corporate owners.
Mr. Mohney said that the forthcoming content will market Tumblr by highlighting how the site is being used, but, he added, “fun, cool, compelling and organic creation will go a lot further towards demonstrating the potential of this nascent creative population than simplistic or forced attempts at corporate boosterism.”
Ms. Bennett, when asked what statement Tumblr was making by bringing her and Mr. Mohney on board, said, “Tumblr is basically hiring a staff to celebrate creativity and innovation. How many companies can say that?” ( nytimes.com )
“Basically, if Tumblr were a city of 42 million,” Ms. Bennett said, referring to the number of Tumblr blogs that exist, “I’m trying to figure out how we cover the ideas, themes and people who live in it.”
Their work — both documenting the Tumblr service and marketing it to users — will appear on the Web site’s staff blog and on a separate part of tumblr.com that has not been set up yet, a Tumblr spokeswoman said Wednesday.
Writers and editors will cover the content of Tumblr blogs and their creators, with the idea of keeping users on the site longer.
The moves by Tumblr are one way to tap into all of the free content that users upload to social networking Web sites. Twitter, trying another way, recently created a section of its site that lists stories that are popular among its users, with links to articles and related Twitter messages. And Facebook recently hired Daniel Fletcher, a 2009 graduate of Northwestern University’s journalism school, to be its managing editor.
Mr. Fletcher, who started work at Facebook this week, said that he would be “building out and creating new content” for Facebook’s channels and pages. One example is Facebook Live, a video streaming channel that occasionally shows conversations with world leaders, celebrities and other newsmakers.
By creating in-house content, social Web sites can increase the amount of time that users spend on their sites, thereby increasing their value to advertisers.
Andrew McLaughlin, a vice president at Tumblr, said that in telling stories about its users, the company wanted Mr. Mohney and Ms. Bennett, the only two hires for the time being, to “do real journalism and analysis, not P.R. fluff.”
“Of course, it’s obviously in our self-interest as a company to surface more compelling stories about creators on Tumblr; at the same time, though, we think Chris and Jessica will be able to do so in ways that embody professional rigor and first-rate writing,” he said in an e-mail message.
There are many Tumblr blogs that could be covered, and some have already won broad attention. Last fall, for instance, a blog that posted stories of hardship and titled itself “We Are the 99 Percent” was widely cited in the media as Occupy Wall Street protests spread across the country. Other blogs have chronicled health scares, political campaigns and foreign conflicts. Many brands have set up Tumblr blogs to attract interest and show a more lighthearted side of their corporate owners.
Mr. Mohney said that the forthcoming content will market Tumblr by highlighting how the site is being used, but, he added, “fun, cool, compelling and organic creation will go a lot further towards demonstrating the potential of this nascent creative population than simplistic or forced attempts at corporate boosterism.”
Ms. Bennett, when asked what statement Tumblr was making by bringing her and Mr. Mohney on board, said, “Tumblr is basically hiring a staff to celebrate creativity and innovation. How many companies can say that?” ( nytimes.com )
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