So, some of you may have noticed that our lovely little blog is hosted by Tumblr, whereas others may be thinking, “Isn’t that what I drink The Macallan out of?” Tumblr is a platform for tumblelogs (also sometimes called microblogs), which are basically just shorter-form blogs. Tumblr was founded in 2007, and we have been using it for FWD Thinking since May 2008. As far as we know, we’re the only PR agency that hosts its blog on the platform, as it seems that Tumblr has gotten a bad rap as “not good for business.”

In the span of its short life, Tumblr has become known as the territory of urban hipsters who post photos of themselves every Wednesday and create themed blogs that eventually get book deals. But what it comes down to is that it’s just a platform. There are actually a wide variety of bloggers on Tumblr, and not all of them are wearing skinny jeans. I’m a huge Tumblr evangelist, because its one of the most forward-thinking, innovative blog platforms out there, and it just keeps evolving.

Plus, Tumblr is ahead of the curve in two developing Web trends — brevity and sociability. Especially due to the popularity of Twitter, people are moving away from long-form blogs and instead sharing briefer updates through microblogging or lifestreaming. I think people often become overwhelmed with the thought and the time it takes to write a long blog post, so they don’t post at all rather than posting shorter updates throughout the day or week.

In addition, almost every Web service these days is introducing a social aspect, whether it’s sharing, following or liking. I believe Tumblr was the first blogging platform to allow you to “follow” other bloggers and easily repost (“reblog”) their content, but Blogger implemented following capabilities soon after. There’s even a new tumblelog competitor on the scene called Posterous, but I remain devoted to the original.

I hope the misconception that Tumblr is not appropriate for hosting business blogs will soon change — and I think it will, now that companies like Newsweek, BlackBook and the Travel Channel are jumping on board. If you know of any other corporate Tumblrs, please let us know in the comments. Who knows, maybe they’ll inspire you to start your own!

—Alyssa

If I was forced to adhere to Patrick Moberg’s New Media Workout Plan, my upper body strength would be out of control (due to my Twitter and Tumblr addictions). However, maybe that would be a good thing.

—Alyssa

Must I even state my bias anymore? Okay, fine, blah, I’m obsessed with the NYT. And yet they make it so easy! Here’s the newest reason why: Mediaweek reports that The New York Times Company is building search products to search through Twitter, ultimately hoping to generate insightful commentary for news items. The company already employs a similar tool on its superluxe blog The Moment, which aggregates relevant Twitter fodder from its editors and readers.

I think Twitter’s internal search is pretty lame, so I’m excited about this development. It’ll certainly help those of us who rely on and monitor online media, plus it deepens the ever-widening boundaries of journalism—citizen and otherwise.

-Elise

Google Reader has been becoming much more social lately, and the newest feature is the ability to automatically export items to other sites. If you go into your Google Reader Settings and click on the “Send To” tab, you can enable exporting to Delicious, Facebook, Twitter, or a handful of other sites. Now it’s even easier to share the news you’re interested in! By the way, if you’re so inclined, you can view my shared Google Reader items here.

—Alyssa

Friday Fun: Taking Your Typical Mommy Blog and Shoving It on Its Head

Mommy bloggers are a popular topic within the marketing community.  Everyone is attempting to determine the best practices to tap into this group of influencers.  We here at M Booth take great pride in our relationships with these bloggers and are always looking to find new routes to expose clients and their products to the right blogs.

This, however, is not your average mommy blog (I’m not even actually sure if the authors are moms, but roll with me here for a minute).  Thrillist brought “Your Baby is An A**hole” to my attention this morning, and I haven’t stopped laughing since.  While many mom blogs share product reviews, family triumphs and tribulations, and adorable pictures of the kids, this blog takes an—ahem—different approach.

If you have a few minutes free during your busy Friday, take a look.  I promise it will be worth your time.  (Warning: The blog does use some salty language, so for those faint of heart or easily offended, don’t say I didn’t warn you.)

-Andrea

The Little Black Dress Goes Digital

Once again, the little black dress proves impenetrable against the tests of time –- the same tests that continuously leave less fortunate parties such as acid-wash jeans, polyester button-downs, saddle shoes (sorry, Elise) and probably fedoras wondering just where they went so wrong (where do we start?). The black dress is immortal.  And what then, we might ask, is the secret to its success?

In light of the article posted yesterday to Jezebel entitled “Uniform Project”: Stunt Fashion, Or Fashionable Service?” I would venture to say adaptability.  The little black dress is jumping on the social media train as it is broadcast to the world by Sheena Matheiken, who will be wearing the same black dress day after day for an entire year, in turn teaching us all a lesson about how creativity and sustainability can work hand in hand.

What better way to join the hands of fashionistas and treehuggers alike –- both being parties whose interest will be naturally sparked by Sheena’s endeavor –- than by working within the “safe space” of social media.  Via a daily blog, “The Uniform Project,” Sheena will describe the endless ways that she is able to reinvent one simple look by stretching her creativity through strategic accessorizing and playing with the vast world of color. Is such an endeavor enough of a grab to keep me visiting Sheena’s site day after day?  I must say I am both intrigued and inspired.  Sheena is taking on a challenge, and there is nothing that captivates audiences more than a challenge.

She has entered herself in her own Top Chef-like competition, only she is up against her own ingenuity and resourcefulness, running a selfless experiment in the possibilities that lie within simplicity. Will creativity prevail?  With the help of the little black dress, I am hopeful – but I will be reading daily to find out!

-Kristin

My favorite blog is going offline.

LATFH.com is a wonderful themed Tumblr blog that has taken the necessary role of making fun of people imploring the world to make of them: hipsters.  If you don’t live in New York or L.A., you may not understand the need to take these people to task.  In the pursuit of irony, hipsters make a mockery of everything authentic, but their goal to be counter-culture is subverted by the strict fashion and social codes of hipsterdom that ultimately enforce normalcy within their subculture.  They need to be stopped!

Partly because it’s serving an important social function, but mostly because it’s hilarious, LATFH.com content will turned into a book this spring.  It’s following in the footsteps of other themed blogs such as Stuff White People Like and Chuck Norris Facts.

The trend of blog themes becoming books tells two important things: 1) humble themes can make a big splash and 2) the blogosphere is taken seriously by publishers.

I can’t wait to proudly display the book on my coffee table (which, I should note, is not littered with hipster regalia: semi-philosophical musing on the benefits of polyamorous arrangements, bad LPs from the 80s, and half-empty PBR cans).

-Tom