I’d like to know what effect micro-blog popularity is having on this observation. It would seem to me that people would be much more likely to write on ad nauseam about whatever was on their mind if they weren’t expected to pump out wit at 140 characters at a time.
I was checking out a blogging service called Squarespace today. I love the setup. I like the layout, and I even like the philosophy of ‘pay for what you get’. I just can’t bring myself to pay for a blogging service. I don’t post enough, nor do I consider myself important enough to have a paid blog. Even if it is only $8/mo.
I actually used to pay $5/mo for TypePad when I was in college and Wordpress was no longer doing it for me. It was a great service and the first one to offer stats on the iPhone, but it just doesn’t make sense to pay for something that you want to make free (disregard how hypocritical that might seem considering that I pay yearly for Flickr, even if it is far less expensive).
How does a site like Tumblr, which prides itself on not having adds that obfuscate the layout, monetize? Doesn’t it worry you that the community you contribute to so much every day is resting on the scaffold of a free service that has no incoming funding that doesn’t have strings attached?
Alright, wtf is going on here? The site pictured here is supposed to help you with clutter. Clutter… How in the hell is that site supposed to help you with clutter? Does it just take yours and add it to the page?
Sure, it would be more difficult for a site to make money if it forgoes advertising, but honestly, I just can’t see an iota of legitimacy in a site that must clearly violate its own advice.
My writing habits and style have changed significantly over the past few months and after seeing this theme and the overall usability of tumblr I decided that it was for me. Even if I don’t pay as much attention to my writing as I imagine myself wanting to, at least it will look good.
Thanks for checking it out.
-Ryan ‘ReRun’ M.
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