Unlike blogging, where you spend time thinking carefully about what you say in each post, Tumblr is really more about the moment of consciousness, and capturing a snapshot of it. Hence, where blog posts are supposed to be solid and stand-alone, Tumblr posts stand in relation to an entire thread of posts. That’s why looking at a Tumblr page is like taking a peek into a person’s stream of consciousness.

Tumblr is the perfect expression of what being on the internet is all about these days. It’s about expressing who you are or how you want to be known, and letting people respond to that in a conversation where they express their ideal selves to you as well. Where traditional blogs are prone to self-indulgence, Tumblr admits to it and, having gotten the awkwardness out of the way, lets people indulge collectively in themselves and in others. I think it’s not too far-fetched to say that it’s possible to meet the most interesting people on Tumblr, and that genuine dialogue can happen in it. So it’s not hard to see why Tumblr retains so many people. It’s addictive, even “blogging as it was meant to be,” as one blogger put it. Maybe one of these days I’ll create one myself.