Blog Content in Moderation

Continuing my discussion about building a following on Tumblr, I wanted to pick up on some pieces of advice I was given by other Tumblr bloggers. One very nice fellow said just to repost snippets from the Internet and grab photos. I'm not comfortable grabbing photos all over the place unless I took the photo then I don't mind. So, I wouldn't necessarily suggest that one as a piece of advice to follow. I even squirmed grabbing the blue-green sweater (see below) to illustrate my point about the sweater in the True Blood series. So my advice about photos is ask permission unless it's in the public domain. I know the Internet is the "Wild West" when it comes to copyright, but I guess I'm just not a gunslinger.

The other piece of advice about posting small snippets is good to a point. Small snippets work best on social media like Facebook or Twitter. On a blog site like Tumblr you need to go deeper. Tumblr is what is called a "blogger-sphere" aimed at the blogging community. People expect you to really blog. No, you don't always have to go deep into a discussion, and it's a good idea not to always go too deep (your readers may lose interest). It does give you a wider berth to express opinions and ideas. If you do nothing more than post items that are just one-liners, though, your readers may lose interest too. So, do try and provide fresh content and don't go too short or too long. I personally think about 1-2 paragraphs is about the perfect length to satisfy. Oh, I know ... moderation! Works for everything doesn't it?