Aug 23, 2010
Tumblr, the new and “oh-soo-hot-right-now” blogging platform has made it’s way to the Android operating system, with an official, no-frills app.
For those of you who are not familiar with Tumblr, it is a micro blogging platform that’s not as “micro” as Twitter, but not as “grown” as WordPress. I’ll call it a “husky” platform. Too fat to fit in Twitter’s clothes, but too small for WordPress’s trousers.
When opening the app, you are immediately greeted with Tumblr’s classically-limited publishing options: “Text, Photo, Quote, Link, Chat, Audio, or Video.” You can also take a look at your Tumblr dashboard, which allows you to edit or delete previous posts. Let’s go through each option:
Text- Simply that. Type something in your phone, press “post,” and your text shows up on your Tumblr blog. Useful for posting longer complaints about your cellphone service, or how much you “luuuuuv TCBY.” This option is for text only. You can not sandwich your text between photos. Text. Only.
Photo- Adding a photo is easy, allowing you to either take a photo, or upload one already existing in the phone’s memory. You can also set a caption for the photo, and a link that users who click on the photo will be taken to.
Quote- Like the “text” option, but this text shows up in a larger font, and has an optional area to site the source of your clever-but-stolen-from-someone-more-clever-than-you-quote.
Link – You can post a URL, and provide a description for that link.
Chat- Here you can allow other people to read the useless banter that occured between you and your also-as-boring-as-you-are co-workers. This is not a chat that readers of your Tumblr can participate in, it is literally a transcript of a conversation you had.
Audio - This is where the app got interesting. Clicking Audio will allow you to upload a song from your phone, or record your own voice, and immediately post it to your Tumblr. The audio will be available immediately, and can be listened to by readers using the in-browser audio player. Useful for mental notes, or blackmail.
Video - I tried to upload videos over 3G, and wi-fi, but was unable to get this feature to work. If you do get it to work, much like the audio option, the “video” option allows you to post videos you’ve taken on your phone, illegally ripped from Youtube, or stuck through a hole at Porky’s.
The app allows you to save your posts as drafts, set future dates for publishing, set custom URL’s for your posts, add tags, or notify your followers on Twitter that you’ve posted another time-wasting thought on your Tumblr.
If you’re hip enough to have an Android phone, and even hip-er to have a Tumblr, then you’ve found your new “most-used” app.
