A Year in Music Posts

If you follow this blog, you know that music is a big part of it.  I try to post at least one music post a day and for the most part that happened according to plan.  Sometimes it is just what inspired me that day and sometimes I have a theme in mind, but all told it was a pretty solid year of posts.

The one challenge though is in the process of posting every day, I forget what exactly I posted.  Once I compiled that list though, it was interesting to see what folks tended to like and reblog.  Some of the more popular posts in fact surprised me.  So what did I notice and were there any notable trends?  Let’s take a look:

The People Spoke and They Like Jazz

My Saturday Jazz Brunch and Saturday Evening Jazz posts get lots of attention, especially if it is John Coltrane or Miles Davis.

Replacements and Pixies Rule Tumblr

No doubt alternative and indie has a following on Tumblr, but the ‘Mats and Pixies seem to lead the way.

Even Unpopular Zeppelin Tunes are Popular

Despite the name of my series “Unpopular Zeppelin”, fans proved definitively that Led Zeppelin has no unpopular tunes.

Double Postings, Double Love

I did not realize that I posted Jimi Hendrix’s The Wind Cries Mary and The Replacement’s Alex Chilton twice, but folks liked them all the same.

Cover Friday Gets Action

Many of my Cover Friday posts tended to do well in the like department, but usually it was the ones I least expected.

Themed Posts Do Better

A number of themed music weeks as well as my weekly series  did well, particularly 80’s Tuesday, Summer Songs, and Drinking Songs.

Metal Monday Rocks On

I keep waving the flag of metal here on Tumblr and it is starting to catch on, with Metallica and Alice in Chains posts leading the way.

But Really, I Have No Idea

So what does well on Tumblr in the music department?  Who knows, but I look forward to more music and more posts in the new year! Thanks for following and in case you missed some of the posts mentioned above, I have included a list below of links to my most popular music posts during the year.  Enjoy and see you in 2014!

MOST POPULAR POSTS OF 2013 (number indicates notes total)

unionmetrics: “ How to Build Your Followers on Tumblr 1. See how the best do it: check out the most popular blogs— not just in your category, but across Tumblr as a whole (Tumblr spotlight is a great tool for this). That way you’ll see not only...
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unionmetrics:

How to Build Your Followers on Tumblr 

1. See how the best do it: check out the most popular blogs— not just in your category, but across Tumblr as a whole (Tumblr spotlight is a great tool for this). That way you’ll see not only what’s being done well in your subject of choice, but could spark new ideas for how you’d like to present your Tumblr. 

2. Track tags: similar to the above, this will allow you to keep a pulse on not only what everyone is saying and doing around your topic of choice, but see how the conversation evolves and changes. You want to be a part of the conversation that’s happening, not one that has already happened. (Don’t know how tracking tags works? Check this out.)  

3. For that matter, use tags: we can’t emphasize enough how important proper tag usage is on Tumblr. It’s how your content can be found by new followers interested in whatever it is that you’re talking about. 

4. Like, reblog, follow: if you’re not engaging with other blogs- whether they’re strictly dedicated to the same thing your blog is centered on or not-  you should be. A follow will spark enough curiosity for many users to check you out, and if you spark interest in turn, follow you back. 

5. Make good art. As Neil Gaiman says. And he doesn’t mean it in only an arts and crafts sense; whatever it is that you’re creating or curating here on Tumblr, make sure the content that you’re sharing is the very best it can be. If you’re bored or underwhelmed by your own blog, who else is going to be interested in following- let alone sharing- what you’re producing? 

6. Don’t be a jerk. See our last tag down there? It never hurts to have manners. Say thank you! Make sure you regularly interact with your followers- don’t ignore messages (unless they’re abusive of course, then you should consider ignoring the user they came from) or other attempts to interact with you. 

It’s an obvious rule of customer service you can never go wrong with. 

7. Cross-promote. Last but not least, let people know you’re on Tumblr! Post about it on your Twitter, your Facebook— your other blog if you have one. Pin images from posts on your Pinterest. It’s a lot harder for people to find you if they don’t know you’re there. 

[Excellent GIF from the fantastic Pusheen Tumblr.] 

Some good tips and tricks for getting the most out of Tumblr.

Producing content that’s relevant to your audience is actually really hard, especially if that’s not a core competency of what you do.

Susan Jurevics, Sony. “New Unit to Turn Brands Into Publishers“ NYT

The proliferation of channels for brands increases demand for brand behavior, which places more pressure than ever before on strategic brand clarity.

Understanding how to create and distribute different types of content for specific audiences across multiple platforms is a challenge for many brands, she said.

(via peterspear)

Pretty much goes to the core of my statement yesterday that the overwhelming majority of advertising on Tumblr is awful.  To all the consumer brands out there listening, learn how to use the platform before you distribute on the platform.

(via )

Worst Tumblr Ever

Immediately after that Tumblr rolled out a sponsorship program with campaigns starting at $200,000. And immediately after that, AT&T apparently paid $200,000 to create one of the worst Tumblrs anyone has ever seen. I wanna talk about all this.

(by bradofarrell via mcdavis)

I have seen plenty of botched social media attempts over the years, but this one could very well be one of the worst.  It is not spectacularly awful in a “bring in the crisis management team” requiring numerous apologies from senior executives and promises of contrition.

AT&T’s Tumblr campaign is a different type of failure.  Instead of shock or vulgarity or offensiveness, its awfulness stems from the sheer banality of their presence, the complete ignorance of the community, and utter lack of even the faintest touches of personality.  In short, their campaign is about as soulless as one could expect from a soulless and cold corporate monolith.

(via mcdavis)

But I want to talk about something else that I find remarkable about Tumblr, even today, after about 2 years of working with the team there. What I find remarkable about the company is that it continues to design and build products that are human scale.

John’s Tumblr 

Very apt quote and a thoughtful post, the thing about Tumblr is that it was from the very beginning organic and human.  Also, the analogy to Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree is very apt…

What Founders Owe Their Community

charleshuang:

The founders of Tumblr or any startup at the end of the day don’t owe anything to their community, their customers, their colleagues or their investors. They owe it to themselves and what they see in the mirror each morning and to their families who have been through the journey with them, supporting them through highs and lows. IF the founders decide (for themselves without outside pressure) that this is the right time to sell and this is the right acquirer and this is the right price…. then let’s cheer and applaud them for a successful journey to date and outcome and wish them well for the future; let’s not second judge or criticize them from afar for timing, for whichever company they sold to, or the price.

-cch

I have to respectfully disagree.  While this is now a moot point given the confirmation that Yahoo has purchased Tumblr for a respectable $1.1 billion, there is the broader point about community and what founders owe that community.  See, when a service and the success of that service is built on the backs of users, whether paid or free or whether consumers or enterprises, that is not something that can be easily brushed aside for personal reasons.  And when that little startup that seemed hopeless finds success against all odds because investors believed and invested considerable dollars into a mere dream, there is a responsibility that transcends “owing it to themselves”.

There is a responsibility you have as a founder creating a business.  It does not stop with just building a great product or service.  People use and depend on what you create.  People take jobs because they trust in your vision and leadership.  People invest in your startup because they buy into the potential for a significant return.  Sure, you do need to consider your own situation and sometimes that situation is such that it is the overriding concern.  However, drastic strategic decisions in a company should not happen in the vacuum of a founder’s personal needs.  This is precisely why boards of directors and other governance mechanisms exist so that decisions are made of sound mind and in fairness to everyone connected to the company.

So you as a founder and entrepreneur do owe something to your community and your customers and your business partners and your employees and your investors.  They invested in you and helped you succeed.  To those that recognize the value of that relationship and place the highest value in their community come greater rewards.  That is what has made Tumblr such a special place on the Internet, their utmost concern for their users and the community.  As David stated in his announcement about the deal:

As always, everything that Tumblr is, we owe to this unbelievable community. We won’t let you down.