David Karp: Young and Wise
David Karp, the founder of Tumblr (this here blog’s platform) spoke to The Digital Publishing Group today. He’s young—younger than I am—but he’s wise/smart/successful/awesome beyond his years.
He spoke about what makes Tumblr special, including the uniquely positive vibe Tumblr cultivates via the inclusion of features like reblogging and “liking” features. (And the absence of regular comments.)
One nugget I took away from the presentation was what a friend of mine referred to as the “America’s Funniest Home Video Principle.” That is, to get folks emotionally invested in your blog/site/project, offer them the possibility of being featured in the project, the way people who submitted videos to the show hope their submissions will be chosen. If folks have the promise of being a part of the product, their interest in the project becomes personal and deep—and it’s more likely to be something they share with their friends. In other words, make your consumers feel like creators too. Then they’ll be as enthusiastic as you are about spreading the word.
It’s marketing via community. It demands transparency, engagement, and, most of all, effort, but the payoff can be huge.
