It seems like everyone these days loves the ability to Tumblr to attract new readers but Google+ might not be included in that group, especially after Star Trek actor and geek superstar Wil Wheaton took to his Tumblr account on Thursday to flip out on Google+ over a forced registration request while watching a YouTube video.

In his rank  Wheaton specifically attacked a mandatory registration request made by Google when he tried to “Like” a video to his Facebook account.

Here’s the rant: read more

In 2010 Tumblr CEO David Karp told the Los Angeles Times that his company was “pretty opposed to advertising. It really turns our stomachs.”

Fast forward to 2012 and a system that receives more than four and a half billion pageviews per week and that stomach turning attitude seems to have disappeared. Speaking at the Ad Age Digital Conference this week Karp announced that Tumblr would start to serve ads through the company’s “Featured” section of Tumblr’s dashboard. While that section receives only a small fraction of Tumblr’s overall reach (120,000 impressions per day) it still signals that the company is moving to a more open business strategy.

Advertisers will be able to pay for space beginning May 2.

The announcement comes just a few short months after Tumblr announced “highlighted posts” which allows users to pay $1 to receive more visibility for their work. read more

Tumblr on Monday announced that the world’s fastest growing blogging platform has friended Facebook, using the company’s Open Graph API to allow for post sharing via Facebook Timeline, News Feed and Ticker.

Under the company’s new plan users can toggle “Send to Facebook” when posting, share replies on their Facebook Timeline and Share Likes on the Timeline. Each option is also lumped together so you don’t end up with a ton of Tumblr replies all over your Facebook account.

Users can find the new options in the blog settings administrator area. If you have already connected Facebook to your blog you’ll be prompted to upgrade in order to receive the new features.

As should be expected the integration is completely optional so users are not forced to open up their posts to Facebook.

In the meantime Tumblr is hoping users will auto share their posts as a means to grab more traffic through social media sharing. The more content that is shared the better off Tumblr will be.  read more

Leave it to the team at Tumblr to nearly forget to mention that they’ve reached 20 billion posts. The company used a rather casual tweet to its 237,000 followers to make mention of the mathematical big milestone.

In the tweet the company said:

“Forgot to make a big deal of this earlier.”

For a company that just got its start in 2007 they should be considering the feat a big deal, especially when considering that the company’s massive content is almost solely created by users who are not paid or even asked by the company to create content.  read more

In a blog post last week Jeremy Cutler, developer of the popular Tumblr add-on Missing e wrote that browser extensions for the popular blogging platform might be in danger because of the company’s TOS.

In his post titled “Your Freedom To Use Your Browser Is Under Attack” he stated that the new TOS could allow Tumblr to delete accounts when browser extensions are use.

However after more than 13,500 notes Tumblr has clarified that it does plan to crack down on browser extensions which include the likes of Xkit, Tumblr Savior and Missing e among others. Users appreciate extensions because of added features such as Mass Editors, Magnifiers and other add-ons to the Tumblr interface.  read more

Tumblr is more than a blog platform, in many cases it’s a beautiful way to visually represent a persons feelings and messages. It’s for that reason that many company’s have launched visual representations of their products through Tumblr and now the New York Times has joined in with “The Lively Morgue.”

Following in the tradition of Tumblr’s top blogs The Lively Morgue takes a unique approach to New York Times content, focusing not on news of the day but the history of the NYT through beautifully shot historical pictures that have been kept in pristine condition inside the New York Times newsroom archive known as “the morgue.”

The New York Times has been publishing archival photographs every day, publishing 17 collections to date via the New York Times however this is the first time the company has created a website dedicated solely to those photos.

While the New York Times has published quite a few photos they note: read more

Uber-popular blogging platform Tumblr announced on Thursday that it would remove “self-harm” promoting websites by targeting pro-anorexia blogs and other self-harm accounts that have popped up on the popular blog system.

The company’s new policy will not allow any blogging sites to promote self injury which range from anorexia and bulimia blogs to cutting and other acts of self-harm.

In the company’s official Tumblr post they clearly state that the new policy ”is intended to reach only those blogs that cross the line into active promotion or glorification.” That means you can still joke about starving yourself but the moment you talk about ways to create that starvation you’ll be in trouble.

Furthering its reach Tumblr will begin shows PSAs whenever searchers on their platform look for self-harm terms such as ”thinspiration,” “proana,” and “purging.” Those PSAs will feature contact information for groups that can help people looking for assistance with their self-harm issues.  read more

Tumblr has actively been attempting to showcase the networks talents lately, ast week the company hired two veteran journalists to cover the sites best content and now they have hired several emerging fashion bloggers to kick off New York Fashion Week.

Tumblr on Wednesday announced on its staff blog that they have partnered with Milk Studios, a photography and studio conglomerate who will take a team of five “local emerging voices in fashion from Tumblr to cover the events” to cover the events.

Readers of the massive blog network can find information using the NYFW tag or they can follow these five bloggers: Alex, Bryant, Chloe, Lucie and Miguel

News of this type of “intimate” interaction was a smart move for Tumblr after BetaBeat in September broke news of the company’s attempt to monetize New York Fashion Week by selling premium ads to willing brands. BetaBeat wrote at the time: read more

Tumblr has been busy lately, yesterday they announced the hiring of two veteran journalists to help cover their growing network of more than 44 million blogs and today they rolled out a new way to show off your work with “highlighted posts.”

Here’s what Tumblr has to say about the new program:

Every now and then, a post comes along that’s meant for big things. It could be pulling the wraps off your new project, promoting your next show, raising awareness for a cause, or just sharing a truly incredible photo.

Today you’ll have a new option to Highlight those extra-important posts. For one dollar, your post will stand out in the Dashboard with a customizable sticker to make sure your followers take notice! read more

Social blog service Tumblr has hired two journalists to help cover the networks extensive community.

Well known writers Chris Mohney, SVP of content for BlackBook Media and Jessice Bennett, senior writer and editor for Newsweek and The Daily Beast have been hired to cover various areas of content and conversation for the network which includes nearly 44 million blogs.

The task of covering Tumblr won’t be easy, as Bennett told Time:

“Basically, if Tumblr were a city of 42 million, I’m trying to figure out how we cover the ideas, themes and people who live in it.”

The main idea will be to showcase bloggers use Tumblr to better showcase their work in creative, fun and unique ways. The writers will post their stories on the Tumblr staff blog while a new Tumblr site will likely be created to showcase their efforts.

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