Tumblr vs. Blogger – Tale of the Tape

In an earlier post, I stressed the value of blogging.  It’s valuable on so many levels:

• It keeps your “writing wheels” greased, so to speak.
• You learn how to link articles, insert pictures, embed videos, etc.
• If you’re uber-geeky like me, you learn how to mess with the HTML code.
• Eventually, you find like-minded people and you realize you’re in the same virtual boat.

“Fine.  You’ve convinced me.  Which blogger platform should I use?”

There are a lot to choose from.  Arguably, the two most popular platforms are Blogger and Tumblr.  For this post, I signed up for both and had them duke it out.

Here’s a Tale of the Tape:

Round 1 – Signing Up

This one goes to Tumblr in a knockout.  Signing up took me all of 45 seconds (not an exaggeration).  It took me longer to find a template than it did to sign up.  There are a lot of them to choose from which is pretty cool.  Not only that, but there aren’t that  many settings to mess around with (both good and bad).  Essentially, Tumblr is begging you to post something right away.

It’s easy to get set up for Blogger, especially if you already have a Google account.  There are a lot of layout and setting issues that can get a bit tedious.

Tumblr wins this round easily.

Round 2 – Feedback/The Community

Writers know that feedback is a double-edged sword.  Whether its constructive or not, I feel that comments and interactivity are the lifeblood of blogging.  That said, Blogger wins this round.  By clicking on a post, the comments are usually available at the end of it (depending on the author’s setup).  Tumblr, on the other hand is minimal at best.  Reblogging – taking your blog post and putting it (with credit) on their tumblr – is the sincerest form of flattery.  You can always  “like” someone’s post (Tumblr’s version is the heart graphic), but that’s usually where the conversation starts and ends.

Blogger wins – TKO.

Round 3 – The X Factor

You know when you go shopping for a car and all the reviews say it’s a great car?  It’s safe, reliable, good on gas, looks cool, etc. Then, you drive it and it’s just not for you. You can’t put your finger on it, but you just don’t like it.

That’s how I feel about Tumblr.

Tumblr is very easy to use.  In fact, if I were going to suggest a blogging platform for students, I would go with Tumblr.  It’s easy to sign up.  Easy to use and has more of a social media (read: Facebook and Twitter) feel than Blogger does.

That being said, I like the way Blogger works.  My friend has been reading some of my postings on both platforms and she says that the formatting on Tumblr gets lost and is blocked at her work (yes, she should be working).

In Round 2, we discussed the interaction of the blog and the reader.  That’s a big deal for me.  I think if I were keeping a blog about teaching (yet to be determined), I would want that give and take that I enjoy.

Blogger wins Round 3 in a conspicuously close decision.

The tale of the tape from this adviser goes to Blogger.  If you want blogging to be easy and slick, go with Tumblr, but if you want the full effects of blogging (i.e. – writing, commenting, sharing, etc.) go with Blogger.

If there’s one thing that you take away from all of this is that you start blogging.  Write.  Write about what you know and write about what you love.  If you love running, blog about running.  If you love juggling, write about it.  If you love juggling while you run, you can even write about it like this guy.  Just start now.