The Reblog Button


Newcritics is a year old this week and Tom asked us all to do an anniversary post about the one media moment that moved us the most. When I think back over the past twelve months, the first year of newcritics, I can think of many photographs, paintings, books, movies, songs, albums, and TV shows that moved me.

But the thing that had the most powerful effect on me and may be fundamental to the future of media is the reblog button on Tumblr.

Reblog Button

It’s a simple idea really. And it’s been done before. But I don’t think its been done as well and as powerfully as it has been done in Tumblr.

You have to have a tumblog on Tumblr to be able to use the reblog button. Which limits its ubiquity and I think that should change. I hope it will.

But each and every form of media that is posted on tumblr - a quote from a book or an article, a song, a photo, a video – has a reblog button next to it (as long as you are logged in to tumblr). If you like something that you read, see, or hear, you simply click on the reblog button and you’ve added that to your tumblog.

I came across this photo the other day on didyouevernotice and was struck by the wonder in her face. I hit the reblog button immediately.
wonder

I’ve been blogging for almost five years now. And the vast majority of what is on my blog are things I’ve created or posted to the web. But that has changed with my tumblog. I find myself reblogging things all the time. I didn’t create them, I didn’t even post them to the web. In some traditional or conventional sense, they aren’t mine.

But when I reblog them, they become mine, or at least I am putting my stamp of approval on them. I like them enough to share them.

Reblogging harnesses the viral web to surface the most interesting media and make it discoverable for others. I would like to see the front page on tumblr feature the most reblogged items the way that digg and delicious/popular do. But instead of links to blog posts or news articles on the web, the most reblogged page would feature a smorgasbord of media in all of its glory.

We are in the midst of a cultural revolution in which the distribution system is moving from being controlled by the creators/funders of content to the consumers of content (the newcritics). When we are done, we will have a more efficient and higher quality media experience for everyone.

They reblog button is an important step in getting there and that is why it was the most powerful piece of media I came across in the past year.

Possibly Related Classroom Projects From DonorsChoose.org Powered by Social Actions

Information and Links

Join the fray by commenting, tracking what others have to say, or linking to it from your blog.

Information
January 26th, 2008
Comments
Feeds and Links
Comment Feed
From This Author
Del.icio.us
Digg
Technorati
Categories
Uncategorized

Other Posts
A Reason to Go On Living: The Poor Boy’s on the Line
Moliere in Love

Readers

Shop newcritics

Featured books:


Viewing 17 Comments

 

Trackbacks

(Trackback URL)

close Reblog this comment
Powered by Disqus · Learn more
blog comments powered by Disqus