On Starting a tumblr at 47
Hey y’all,
This is a short one and pretty much just what it says on the tin.
Why now? you might ask.
Well, as I’ve said a few times now, Ello looks to be dead. No, for real this time. Talenthouse is about to go under and so Ello will, I imagine, cease. Or perhaps it will be sold, I dunno. In any case, the site was virtually unusable in the spring, and is now completely inaccessible. Hope you downloaded your data!
Okay, I get that, but why tumblr? you may ask.
I didn’t coordinate this mass exodus; I just tagged along. Having already been a coordinator for such events in the past (most notably Okuna, which also died, and to a lesser extent Vero, which is technically still a thing), I was thrilled to not be an organizing participant this time. They picked tumblr, so we went to tumblr.
What’s it like over there? you might wonder.
Kind of a mess? I don’t really get social media to begin with, never have, so I tend to base my experience on two things: 1) how clean and easy to use the site is, and 2) how easy it is to talk with other people. I would rank my experience of tumblr so far as ‘eh’ in both categories. But it’s still a relatively new migration for us, so. We’ll see.
Wait, I have a tumblr from 2008, you say. What’s your tumblr name, T?
It’s tvansantana. Here’s the link: https://www.tumblr.com/tvansantana
Oh. You don’t have many posts.
No, I do not.
Do you follow back?
If I like you I do. So, generally yes.
Are there a lot of bots?
Oh yeah. Like a shitton. But you’re from Ello, so you’re used to that.
What’s the ‘at 47’ bit about?
I dunno, tumblr seems like a 20-30 somethings kina hang and so I feel a bit out of sorts being 47. Many Ellovians are much older than that, so as long as I’m with them I feel fine. But it feels odd interacting with folks in their mid-twenties when I’m in my late forties. Kina cringey. But my life is kina cringey these days, so. Whatever.
Are there other social media sites where we could hangout instead?
As I alluded to a second ago, I’m also on Vero. Just joined Bluesky (many thanks, Luke) and have no footing there. No one talks to me, so come chat with T under the Bluesky! Uhhh let’s see … Oh! Letterboxd. No one talks to me there, either, but that’s a little less awkward cos no one really talks to anyone there, so. If you’re a film buff, we can hangout there and muse about movies. Lastly (and perhaps least) is right here on Substack. They have their own in-house social media dealie called Notes (not to be confused with what tumblr calls their posts … which is also notes.) Substack also has a chat feature, so we can chat here too, if you want.
Why don’t you join one of the big social media sites, T? you might ask
Oh that’s an easy one. I despise both those dudes and everything they stand for.
Okay, that’s it lovelies. Hit T up with questions, comments, or whatever. Have a great week!
Xoxo,
T
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