The Negotiation Limerick File

There is a distinct lack of writers on Tumblr

roamin:

reblogged from shutupinternet:

There’s such a distinct lack of text content on Tumblr that breaks even 100 words in a post, it’s pretty sad. I’m sure there are some fantastic writers out there, some fantastic thinkers too but where is their representation?

…

In a world where newspapers are folding due to distinct lack of funding, subscribers and new favor of online-only content, Tumblr is the perfect platform for writers: You write, you build a following, an audience, and anytime you publish you automatically have a group that auto-subscribes to your content with the possibility of reaching further once they choose to reblog and comment.

It’s funny, when I started using my Tumblr site as more of a traditional blog, mainly for sharing links and posting responses to things I’d read online, I felt like I was doing something subversive.

Ninety percent of the people I follow on Tumblr use it for posting images, videos, and the like, and don’t get me wrong, it’s hilarious.  I love it, I really do.  But that was never my style.  I wanted a new site, a place where I could think out loud about topics that interest me, something that could complement the longer personal essays I’ve kept on my canonical site, and Tumblr was the obvious choice of platform.  It’s just fun to use, and whether you’re posting cat videos or pictures of fucking hipsters, it’s dead simple efficient.  The thought of trying to do this kind of stuff with my own WordPress install makes my head hurt.

I don’t think I’d categorize what I’ve been doing here in the last month or so as “writing” in the same way as my other essays, but it’s closest to what my first impulse has always been to do online: to share interesting stuff with other people who I think might care.  And Tumblr made that enjoyable again.

The thing where my laptop has become my desktop and my phone has become my laptop...

patrickrhone:

For me, the iPhone is enough to handle every computing task (web, email, social networking, notetaking, etc.) I generally need to do while on the go. I take it to the coffee shop to get work done, manage my task list and write blog posts (yep, using the on screen keyboard). I have taken it and the Macbook with me to conferences only to find that my Macbook stayed in my bag acting as dead weight. When I went to Macworld last year, my Macbook stayed on the desk in my hotel room after half way through day one. The iPhone was the better option to take to the conference itself.

I believe that a shift is taking place. For most users, the laptop will become their desktop machine that has the added option of being able to be portable when absolutely needed. In all other cases, the iPhone will not only suffice but will, due to it’s high portability, excel.

Patrick is right, but as I sit here typing this on a laptop that I decided last minute to take with me out of town this weekend because, well, I thought I might want to type something like this, I have to disagree on one minor point.  If he can write blog posts on his iPhone, good for him.  I think I could do the basic text part too, but the mechanics of finding his original post in Tumblr, editing it down to the salient point for my reblog, adding my own text response, and tagging it before publication—is nigh impossible on a phone right now.  I don’t doubt that someday, some genius developer will make a better blogging app, but right now, for me at least, the kind of multi-step, link- and quotation-based post like this isn’t feasible on a phone.

That being said, I do agree with Patrick about using a phone exclusively for every other purpose, and I can see a day when some people may choose to not even have a personal desktop or laptop at all.  But for intricate production like this, the phone experience is still lacking.  But I really, really want it to catch up.

Socializing Online vs the Real World

I had a bit of fun yesterday with the study that found that people who prefer socializing online tend to have poor real-world social skills, but one of Andrew Sulllivan’s readers makes an important distinction:

I doubt this is something I need to point out to you, but I think it’s worth reiterating as much as possible that the choice, for antisocial people, isn’t between social networking online and social networking in-person. Rather, it’s between social networking online and not social networking at all.

I would add that this doesn’t apply to just “antisocial” people per se, but people who don’t have the time or means to socialize in the real world all that often.  When I quit work to stay at home with my kids, I spent many long days sitting on the floor, pushing Little People around on the carpet and watching videos of talking train engines.  Social networking was often the only adult interaction I had until my wife came home.

While I tend to prefer solitary activities if given a choice, I wouldn’t categorize myself as antisocial either.  I can socialize in the real world if I’m in the mood.  Sure, I could have arranged playdates and joined parents’ groups, but as anyone who has done so can tell you, that’s a giant hassle.  So in my case, the choice between online and real-world networking wasn’t about preference, it was about practicality and convenience.