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As part of the GateHouse News Service coverage of 9/11, we are using Tumblr, a micro-blogging platform. Right now, our Tumblr blog is a collection of 9/11 stories, photos and archive material from around the Web. The blog will be updated live from ground zero by GateHouse reporter Carlene Peterson the weekend of Sept. 11, and reporter Sean Driscoll will file live updates from events in Washington, D.C.
Tumblr is a relative newcomer on the social media scene, and this is the first time we’re using it to help cover an event. Here are 5 things to know about Tumblr:
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What is Tumblr?
A microblogging platform launched in 2007. |
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Are other news organizations on Tumblr? Here's a partial list: The Economist, Salon, New York Times, The Guardian, LA Times, NPR, The New Yorker, Newsweek, The Huffington Post, Rolling Stone, and Time Magazine. |
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Why Tumblr for this project? Like Twitter, Tumblr is built to host short, pithy nuggets of information to be shared. Unlike Twitter, however, Tumblr is built for multimedia. Photographs and video display beautifully on Tumblr.
The 9/11 anniversary events will be highly visual, and Tumblr will be a great way to get that multimedia content up quickly and easily, and have it displayed well. |
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For this project, GateHouse has a website, a Facebook page and a Twitter account. Why add one more platform? Tumblr is growing rapidly, especially among a younger audience than our traditional web audience and Facebook fans. This is just one more way to find a new audience. |
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Should GateHouse newsrooms use Tumblr? Right now, we’re in the experimental phase. We’re seeing how it works and if it works well for us. |
