I have two blogs, my tumblr blog and my wordpress blog. today I am going to compare the two, riveting stuff huh?

tumblr

my first impressions of tumblr were that it was very minimalist, there was not alot of personal information on there. the basic set up is a one column blog with no side column links or calenders etc. there is one theme option with a 3×3 column/row option, and of course the site allows for html so you can change the page however you want. however, the majority of tumblr’s i follow do not use this option.

due to the lack of ‘blog roll’ in a sidebar, there is the option for you to ‘follow’ someones tumblr blog. this means every time i log onto my blog, the dashboard comes up with my entries, and the latest entries from the people i follow. you should visit some of the ones i mostly keep track of:

• njmcgee: one of the tutors from this unit, Nathan McGuiness. Lots of satire, cynicism and NMP related links “Intertwingled”
• hunsonisgroovy: talented comic artist, entertaining blog. “hunsonisgroovy”
• kari-shma: young woman (i guess) posts ALOT of images, photography, borrows from weheartit and other tumblr users “twentythree”
• jess-with-spaghetti: my tumblr, mostly post images relating to my mood. still trying to get the colors how i want. “wendybird wonderings”

i think the thing i find most appealing about tumblr is the lack of writing. there are no long blogs, just one or two lines, an image, a song, some dialogue, one thing. you also cannot post more then one picture in a single entry, which i like, but i am not sure why. i think it is very easy to be personal on tumblr, people share alot about themselves with the types of things they post. when someone blogs something cool, there is also the option for you to ‘reblog’ it on your own page, for example, this post about marilyn monroe girls vs. audrey hepburn girls (written by a dude) has been reblogged ALOT. go visit.

for the record… don’t really care much about either of those women, but i would like to hope i was audrey hepburn type of girl

tumblr is super basic, it only offers you minimal post options, but with the html option there is alot of freedom for those who know how to use it. it is a great blog site.

9/10

wordpress

my wordpress blog is the one i set up for school. i made my own banner, using photoshop, and tried to make the theme a little tiny representation of myself. the blog is like a typical blog, single column for posts, left hand side bar for archive, blog roll, tag cloud (my favorite feature) calender, etc. i can also import my del.ici.ous. links and flickr photos so they appear on my the sidebar.

i have 13 links on the side of my page, 11 of which are blogs, 3 are tumblr blogs, 5 are uni students and unit staff blogs. these are great to have because i can keep up to date on whats going on.

i post LONG blogs (sometimes) on wordpress, so when i am in a longwinded mood this suits me just fine. i love the fact that with some themes you can post your own header, and you have alot of freedom with how the site can look. i like the fact that there is a comments option, however, i find it hard to get back to the person who commented, to go visit their blog. i also like that you can embed videos, audio and images into your posts.

the dashboard is very cluttered however, and my ’status’ bar rarely if ever works. there is alot of information on the welcome page.

all in all i like wordpress for the freedom i have to post essays etc, but it does not suit my lifestyle like tumblr does. i want a blog where i can post one thing and go, i have barely enough time to eat before i leave the house for uni everyday.

7.5/10

i have a tumblr blog!!!

go visit it, i am still getting it up and going, but i have to say, i think i already prefer it to this blog. i can post short sharp entries on how i am feeling, what i am doing or something cool i find… i think it is easy, efficient, and much more suited to my lifestyle at the moment.

xx

currently listening to: foundations, by kate nash (re-done by newton faulkner)

so it is almost midnight and i am still up… why? well party cause i have to use my computer to charge my phone and it only charges when i am actually USING the compy, and partly cause i just can’t sleep.

i can see my bed… all nice and inviting, and my book, lying there next to my pillow, silently begging, “jess close the laptop and come and read me! you know you want to…” or maybe i’ve just had too much red bull and not enough real food in the last couple of days.

anyway

today i got a bamboo graphics pad. it was alot cheaper then i thought it was going to be and has so far proved to be VERY useful, although i can’t really take it for a spin till i get the registration number for my edition of photoshop back from adobe.

i can hear you all going, “but why didn’t you just download a pirated copy for free jess? you are such a gumby!” – I JUST DON’T WORK THAT WAY PEOPLE!

i bought photoshop three months ago for a digital photo media assignment, used it for the 30 day trial perdiod without registering it, and i only got round to that last night. i swear i am more organised then this.

anyway i guess i just wanted you all (all two of you, raph and tom, who actually read this) that you should invest in one, espescially you tadtap or whatever your screen name is, espescially with your animation skills, imagine what you could do with reg + computer animation? and i don’t want any of you to give me crap about cgi taking away from the art of animation. stop-go is an art form that can never be replaced, cgi just gives it that extra oompf to make it sparkle.

i think i am just rambling now…

i should also tell you why i chose wordpress over livejournal, blogger and mindsay (of which i already had an account, back when i used to paint my nails black and write poetry… oh wait, i that was on the 12th of never)

i tried to set up an account with wordpress in my tute first, however when i couldn’t put my own photo for the header, i tried blogger, then livejournal. they didn’t work either. for me, having an account that i can personalise (however subtly) and that is simple to read/use is probably top of the priority list. i felt that wordpress was simple to use, had clear clean look and when i finally for my own header i was very pleased with the look. granted it will probably change again before the week is out, but for now i am happy.

i put a photo of me up on my about me… is this a bad idea? probably… do i care right now? no, there are 788 photos of me on facebook… narcissistic? maybe.