Image-sharing key to Tumbler’s Triumph

What’s the Latest Development?

Microblog newby Tumblr has just surpassed the 20.7 million blogs hosted by WordPress–explosive growth given it hosted about 7 million blogs as recently as January. Kit Eaton says such exponential growth means it’s probably just the beginning of many record-breaking events for it. “Tumblr’s meteoric rise proves there’s a desire for simple, elegant, short-form-content blogs that are heavy on imagery—a model echoed in the rise in photo sharing through iPhone apps like Instagram or Color.”

What’s the Big Idea?

It’s possible more and more brands will embrace Tumblr as a channel for simple message communication. Tumblr users are much more engaged than Twitter users. More and more big-name companies are hosting additional sites on Tumblr because its low-tech simplicity, soaring membership, and dominant social angle helps them spread their message further and faster. Founder David Karp says Tumblr is intended as a place for “creativity and sharing.”