Rough 'n Tumblr: 7 Rules To Tackle Your Tumblr Page

Like Facebook and Twitter before it, Tumblr is an online platform that can be used for a multitude of purposes — social networking, self-promotion, mindless entertainment. The millions of users who log on to Tumblr every day come or stay for various reasons.

One major reason users keep logging on is Tumblr's Grandma-proof simplicity. Similar to Facebook's clean blue-and-white design versus Myspace's overcrowded HTML jungle, a large part of Tumblr's success can be attributed to its design simplifications. While Tumblr does allow users to embed HTML coding on their blogs, it keeps the functionalities — post a video, image, text, or quote — easy and upfront.

Tumblr is a great tool, but it's also a great community that skews young, enthusiastic and creative.

Uinterview recently launched its own Tumblr page and we’ve learned a lot from the experience. There is plenty of potential for expanding your network, but there are also a few common mistakes that you want to avoid when using Tumblr.

Here are our 7 Rules for Tumblr dominance:

1. Go for a multi-media approach. While many Tumblr blogs publish only photos or only text, it's really easy to mix things up by adding videos, short quotes and links. Other blogging CMS's like WordPress and Blogger are widely used by professionals because they include limitless options — which can be overwhelming for even the most tech-savvy user. Tumblr makes it easy to have an attractive, interesting blog without all the fuss.

2. Follow selectively. At the top right corner of every Tumblr page there is a button that allows you to follow, which means that updates will be added to the feed on your dashboard — your home base / control panel for your Tumblr account. If you get trigger happy with the follow button, you'll find content appearing on your dashboard that will make you stop and say, wait, "I didn't sign up for this!" The way to avoid this is to do some research before you follow a blog. Make sure any blog you follow regularly adds content that's relevant to you, and your Tumblr dashboard will become a top candidate for your Internet browser's homepage.

3. It's a blog, not a profile. The technology that's built into your Tumblr lends itself to many applications, but given that it's essentially an online publishing platform, you should be wary of posting details of your personal life, rude comments about other people, or anything else that you wouldn't want your mom or a future employer to see. Generally speaking, you should be more guarded than you are on Facebook and Twitter while still being yourself.

4. Know what's NSFW (not safe for work). Generally speaking, NSFW is the tag for adult material — foul language, nudity and yes, plenty of straight-up porn. Such content may be fine at home, but while at work it is easily avoidable by steering clear of explicit search terms and anything marked with NSFW.

5. Follow tags. Tumblr is a community of communities. Like-minded individuals are connected through tags, which you can "follow" and add to your dashboard just as you follow individual blogs. By following tags that represent your interests, which may be as diverse as "puppies" and "Jennifer Lopez," you will see activity that's relevant to you as soon as it hits Tumblr.

6. Be specific. Some of the most memorable — and thus, most popular — Tumblr pages use quirky gimmicks to keep readers entertained. (Check out "Texts from Bennet" and "Feminist Ryan Gosling" for two examples.) Be generous when adding tags to your posts as they are key to spreading your content around the Tumblrsphere.

7. Stay connected. When you see something on Tumblr that you like, like it. If it fits perfectly on your own blog, re-blog it. Tumblr is designed to keep people with similar interests connected.

Uinterview is proud to have Intel, a company dedicated to bringing great technology to advance your life, as our partner in presenting this post. We can't wait to see how Next Gen technology will make our lives even smarter tomorrow.