Is Tumblr for ya?

So we were in a client meeting last week discussing our social media proposal which focused mainly on Facebook and he said, “Did you see where Facebook is losing traction among teens, I just want to make sure we’re keeping an eye on what’s next.”

Then I read this article in The New York Times touting the sort of microblog Tumblr as Facebook and Twitter’s New Rival. The article points out that media companies and outlets like Newsweek and The Today Show are using Tumblr because of its ability in manner more “rich” than the other more famous platforms.  The thought here that might excite the younger set who are frustrated by the mainstreaming of Facebook and Twitter and the limitations both have in truly sharing rich media.

So what does a PR/social media guy do next?  He signs up for Tumblr.

My usual experience for new platforms is that I sign up, play with them for five minutes, get frustrated and dump them quickly only to come back to them later when others validate them (see Google Buzz…not).   Not so yet with Tumblr.

The platform is a “major mash” of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogging with elements of Flipboard (the new hot iPad APP) sprinkled in.

Here are some of the highlights:

• Once you set up your page you can customize the background and info similar to Twitter.
• You can post just about anything in a more rich way.  For example, photos are BIG as are videos, you can do full blog posts or random thoughts similar to Tweets.  You can link to anything and bring in your own feeds.
• Just as with Facebook and Twitter you can follow people or outlets that are searchable through categories.  Once you follow them, their posts will populate your dashboard.  They can also follow you and you are notified of that follow by email.
• You can “reblog” their posts as a way to show your interest in a manner similar to a retweet.  This of course will help people find each other as common courtesy usually has a follow following a reblog.

Since I’m just starting on Tumblr I’m likely missing about 90 percent of its capabilities.  So I’d love some direction from fellow “Tumblrs” who can steer me in the right direction.

The question over time is whether we can fit a third (or more) social media platform into our daily social media routine.  Tumblr does allow for easy cross-pollination between itself Facebook and Twitter although I hate overdoing that.

But my initial feedback is positive and I will continue my Tumblr experiment and report back soon.

What’s your feedback?