Tumblr -> DW?

[ladydrace]

I desperately want to move from Tumblr back to DW, but there's a problem. There's just not a lot of activity here. And I'm struggling to work out how to fix that.

I mean, obviously I would have to contribute more myself. Tumblr was wonderful in the fact that I didn't actually need to engage in any kind of activity, there was already so much there. And despite an increasingly fandom-unfriendly platform it remains the place where fandom seems to live. 

But it's rapidly reaching the point where Tumblr aggravates me more than it inspires. It's been coming on a long time, but the lack of my preferred obsessions anywhere else is what's keeping me there. It sure isn't the interface or (apart from a very select few) the company. 

It's gonna happen. I might mourn the pretty pictures and hip-shooting fanfic bursts, but unless some really big magical turn-around happens, then Tumblr will have to see me go.

First step: tag-surfing here. I WILL find something new to fill my feed with. I WILL, DAMMIT!

Comments

[angrboda]

I never used Tumblr myself. Couldn't see what I would use it for, really.

Perhaps you can find some friending memes or something? Also, I would strongly recommend snowflake_challenge which runs in January. I did it last January, in spite of being already then more or less fandom dormant and made a bunch of friends. It was quite good fun. I'm not certain if I'll do it again this January, though, because I'm even more fandom dormant now and probably more or less 'retired'. But then again, I might decide that cross stitch can be a fandom dammit and do it anyway just because it was such a good experience last time. :)

[ladydrace]

Ooooh, that does look interesting! Definitely gonna have a peek! :D

[mr_picard]

Ooooh that snowflake challenge thing really DOES look interesting! (I'm also looking for fandom friends here. Not to replace my Tumblr, I just another fannish home.)

[ladydrace]

That's actually a good point. Maybe keep Tumblr as a laser focused injection of fandom, and then get the more personal experience here on DW? Hmm.

[mr_picard]

It's a good way, IMO. Tumblr really isn't a good place for making personal posts, and DW isn't very good for posting a lot of pictures. It seems like a logical thing to keep both for different reasons. To me, anyway. lol

[angrboda]

It's really good fun, and there's no pressure, because if you don't want to do the day's task, you can just skip it. Or even do it another day if you prefer. Everybody comes from different fandoms, but I found last time that it was part of the fun. I found myself reading a really long series of LotR vignettes, even though it's a fandom I've never had anything to do with before, other than enjoying the films and books.

On 14 November 2015 at 19:11, mr_picard - DW Comment <dw_null@dreamwidth.org</p>

[mr_picard]

I added the community to my reading page. It really looks like a fun thing to do - especially since there doesn't seem to be any pressure behind it. (I'm not good at writing on command.) Not sure if there will be any Trek fans, though... but it's definitely worth a try.

[angrboda]

Well, if you tell your trekkie friends (and they tell theirs who tell theirs), there might be. :D

I can't remember which fandoms were represented last time. Supernatural and LotR definitely. A bit of Buffy and a bit of Harry Potter... Lots of different ones. :)

On 15 November 2015 at 17:05, mr_picard - DW Comment <dw_null@dreamwidth.org</p>

[mr_picard]

I don't really have many Trekkie friends here yet (I got rid of my LJ account and moved over here only a few weeks ago), but I sure hope I'll find some there!

[mr_picard]

I can relate to looking for more fannish friends here, I'm having the same problem: There just don't seem to be many folks here to begin with.

I do agree that Tumblr can be VERY aggravating these days - I always try to remember that most folks there are very young and ridiculously easy to rile up.

[ladydrace]

It's not even the people as much as the platform. The people I can choose to avoid by just unfollowing when there's wank, but I either have to deal with the platform in all its unhelpful glory, or depend heavily on fixes that break every single time there's a new update. Which is often. So I can't be bothered.

I like the tumblr dash and the easy tagging system. Literally everything else ticks me off to no end.

[whit_merule]

One thing that could very easily be started up again - and which could capitalise on the tumblr-encouraged habit of 'short and sweet/instant gratification' - is challenge/prompt posts. You remember things like the texts-from-last-night challenge, or just general smut prompts, where people would post a (possibly themed) prompt then people would, anonymously or not, write smutty short comment fics based on those? I'm sure we could get those going again. And because they'd be hosted in one place - on one post, even - and because DW is fairly flexible about whom it allows to post, people could participate without having a DW account, and it could be advertsied on our tumblrs to get people's interest. (AND THEN THEY WOULD BE HOOKED AND THEY WOULD NOT GET AWAY muahahaha.)

[ladydrace]

True. But how? Via communities? Or just random posts on my own blog? I don't think I have enough followers for the latter, and I struggle to find active communities for the former.

Any suggestions?

[whit_merule]

Well, I was thinking a post on a personal blog which we then pimp out on tumblr. And get a few friends with bigger follower bases to do the same. Practicalities, though... hm. My first instinct is to say 'something sabriel-themed' because if we were to rope, say, aria and grey in, there's a pre-assembled enthusiastic gang right there (of prompters and authors and promoters, which are the three key ingredients). Though I wouldn't want to muscle in on aria's SFF. But that's the thing - would it be direct competition or would it be complementary enthusiasm? After all, the whole point of SFF is that it's Friday - it's one day of the week, it's ephemeral - which is a very tumblr thing. Things have to be reblogged each week or they don't exist anymore. Whereas a post like the propmt posts is an ongoing challenge and a repository at the same time.

[ladydrace]

First of all, I think Aria would LOVE for us to "muscle in". Especially if it means she gets more to reblog.

But I get what you mean. I think. I just have no idea what the template should be for such a thing. Should it be a fixed post with prompts in it, or should the prompts be in the comments for people to sort through on their own? Or should it be just comments, and the main post keeping track of and linking to prompts and fills?

[whit_merule]

As per this beautiful post (and there's a lot of lovely smut for your next relaxed evening in bed). Hmm... if we could get bewaretheides back off tumblr...

[ladydrace]

Oh, right, I see. I never participated much in these things, although I seem to remember one comment-fic community I know I wrote a few things for. But I'll be damned if I can remember what it was. Curse my faulty brain!

But yeah, a prompts post wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility, but... definitely not right now. But I'll have a ponder!

[whit_merule]

Yes, we probably need to find our own footing and establish our own journals a bit more first.