For the last few years, I’ve watched with interest as friends as well as online acquaintances have embarked on and continued “365 photo” projects. I’ve held off joining this group of regular, sharing photographers, but this year I’ve decided to join the team. My 365 project will “officially” start on January 1st, but I’m getting an early start so everything is configured and in place. I’ve settled on Tumblr as my 365 project blogging platform, and setup 365.wesfryer.com as my 365 project blog using Tumblr’s instructions for a custom sub-domain. Since I already own the domain wesfryer.com and Tumblr (like Posterous) does not charge a fee to use a custom domain, it was a straightforward process to create a new “A record” in my GoDaddy.com domain manager and make my site “live.” I was actually startled at how fast this was to setup – MUCH easier than installing and configuring a new WordPress installation.
There are several reasons I chose Tumblr for my 365 blog. Ryan Collins‘ comment on my post earlier this week, “365 Photo Blog: Posterous, WordPress or just Flickr?” was one reason. Since writing the post, “Quickblogging Options: Comparing tumblr and posterous” in May 2010, I’ve become an avid Posterous user. This has become increasingly the case as I’ve used my iPad more for media consumption as well as sharing. Although I enjoy using both the WordPress iOS app (free) and Blogpress ($3) to post to my blogs from my iPhone, the Notes application combined with email and a Posterous site remains a VERY easy way to mobile blog as well – and generally my preferred method these days. I explained this process in my November 30th post, “iPad Blogging with Posterous.” I haven’t become familiar with Tumblr in the past six months, however, and as Ryan suggested it’s a great option for a 365 project.
I’m a vocal advocate for “digital sandboxes,” and this means having online spaces to create and share where the stakes are low and the peer support factor is high.
I want to become more familiar with the capabilities as well as limitations of Tumblr, especially as it compares to Posterous and WordPress, so I figured the best way is to start using it regularly. A 365 photo project seems like a great way to operationalize this wish into a practical goal. The great looking, free Tumblr app for iOS (which I’ve used the past two days to post my initial photos) also looks like a great reason to use Tumblr.
With choices like video and audio, in addition to photos, I may include some varied multimedia in my daily posts to 365.wesfryer.com!
The main disadvantage I see to Tumblr so far, compared to Posterous, is that it does not appear to support cross-posting to sites other than Twitter. With a Posterous blog I can have content cross-post to both Flickr and another blog, if desired. If Tumblr supports this functionality, I haven’t been able to find it yet. (Please let me know if it does!) It would be nice if Tumblr could auto-post to a website like 365project.org too, but I don’t think it can do that either. I’m planning to save the photos I use for my 365 project to my local hard drive as well as my Flickr account, although I’m not sure I’ll be creating a special “365 photo set” on Flickr since I don’t think Tumblr can help me do that automatically. The worst-case scenario for my project is that Tumblr will go the way of Drop.io and discontinue service, or other web 2.0 companies and go completely offline. That may happen, but it’s worth hedging my bets to learn more about Tumblr and its capabilities. I’m increasingly convinced a key litmus test for digital usability is the NUMBER OF STEPS it takes to do something. Sites like Posterous and Tumblr make sharing easier than ever, and for these reasons I think we need to consider recommending these sites to others who may be just getting started with social media and idea sharing. If you think Blogging with Blogger.com is “easy” and simple, try Posterous or Tumblr. These sites define “quick blogging” today, IMHO.
Alan Levine follows @dailyshoot on Twitter to get 365 photo inspiration. Do you have other sources of inspiration you’d recommend for 365 photographers embarking on this journey? 
Several of Bob Sprankle’s amazing collection of iPhone photography apps have made it onto my wish list for Santa this year!
My artistic photography skills may never match those of Marco Torres, but I know I’ll become a better photographer if I deliberately engage in photography daily and regularly share my creations with others! If you’re not already engaged in a 365 photos project, consider starting one in 2011! It’s a New Year’s Resolution that’s bound to bear some creative fruit!
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Remember to follow Wesley Fryer on Twitter (@wfryer), Facebook and Google+. Also "like" Wesley's Facebook pages for "Speed of Creativity Learning" and his eBook, "Playing with Media." Don't miss Wesley's latest technology integration project, "Mapping Media to the Common Core / Curriculum."
On this day..
- Transfer Saved Minecraft Worlds to Another Computer on Mac OS X 10.7 Lion - 2011
- Mark Zuckerburg: Time's Person of the Year - 2010
- US Army Deploying iPhones - 2010
- A focus on high test scores is all you need - 2009
- If gambling is bad for soldiers, isn't it bad for non-military citizens? - 2007
- Wrestling with website registration limits - 2007
- More on Bloom's and student creativity - 2006
- Converting cassette tape recording to MP3 - 2004
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