tumbling in heels.

Are you on Tumblr? If not, you should be. Despite growing rapidly, it hasn't quite spread like a wildfire yet, but I expect it to. Essentially, Tumblr is another social networking/blogging site that allows users to share photos, quotes, links, audio, etc., which their followers can "reblog" (much like a retweet on Twitter). The site has the capability to function as a full-fledged blog, but more often than not (especially with the type of tumblogs I follow), people are simply posting pictures. That's what I do. Instead of posting all of them here, I post or reblog pictures of random things (celebrities, fashion, film screengrabs, really interesting photography) that I don't necessarily want to comment on -- I just want to collect.

Tumblr has now developed into a circle of communities. On the site, you can search directories, various categories of blogs. Users are urged to recommend blogs in particular categories every Tuesday. Within these communities, many of the bloggers have formed strong bonds, constantly reblogging and promoting each other. Perhaps one of the largest categories is fashion. I follow many of these fashion blogs, and I've seen firsthand how the community has grown. Many bloggers share personal styling tips, such as daily outfits or lookbooks that they've put together, while others share the latest in the design world, offering their commentary.

 

In an interesting turn of events, Tumblr has decided to sponsor a trip to New York Fashion Week in February for over 20 fashion bloggers. They will host a stream of their content on a NYFW tumblog. I think this is such an awesome idea. Not only does it show the connectivity of social media within communities, but it also proves that personal blogs and other online spaces serve as legitimate content and news sources for so many people around the world. There are countless articles and studies about this "new wave of journalistic change" (which has been a hot topic for quite some time), and I think this further proves the legitimacy of the conversations occurring through social media. Blogs, Twitter streams, all of these serve as springboards not only for discussion, but careers. It's great seeing how many aspiring magazine editors or designers (even leaders outside the fashion community) are using social media platforms to form relationships, experiment, learn, criticize, grow -- all of which can aid in the future.

See, all of the time-wasting sites are worth something :)