Last night I randomly asked, "what makes my link blog different from my Twitter different from my Tumblr different from my Facebook stream?" Mat Honan then answered on Twitter ("Replies"), on Tumblr ("Reblogging"), on Facebook ("Comments"), and now he can answer here.
The less space you have, the smarter the stuff you say is?
(No, I wasn't being an ass. I'm serious. I just don't know if I'm complimenting you or taking a jab. It's probably the first. Probably.)
posted by Nav at 1:09 AM on March 20, 2009 
Okay, now because I feel like I was an ass for no good reason, a more serious, more boring answer.
I think certain sites/services have their own culture. Tumblr has its thing, its own set of unwritten rules, an audience that it attracts. Like culture, you can mess with it to produce subcultures etc etc, i.e. in the way that some people use twitter for poetry and others for incessant self-promotion. So my answer is basically analogous to the difference between the same article being read aloud, read on newsprint, or seen in a glossy magazine. If the audience produces the text, then etc. etc.
See, I told you it would be more boring.
posted by Nav at 1:30 AM on March 20, 2009
there is no Unsend on Fimoc. It's the corner tavern that I've been stopping by everyday on the way home from work for years. You get turned on to some videos, find some new music and enjoy the periodic great conversation or some hand submitted spam. Fimoc is still a destination for me personally. Don't get crazy thoughts about having fimoculous.com redirecting to your tumblr page.. it wouldn't be the same.
posted by rico at 2:08 AM on March 20, 2009
Control
posted by mat honan at 2:27 AM on March 20, 2009
I hate microblogging - still can work out what the big deal is!
free roulette
posted by poker head at 6:18 AM on March 20, 2009
audience and community.
posted by taulpaul at 9:29 AM on March 20, 2009
Word @ poker head. I almost answered "spam."I'm glad you made that point for me. Thanks, you post-modern marketing genius, you. I hope one day you still can work out what the big deal is!
posted by mat honan at 10:54 AM on March 20, 2009
Don't forget Google Reader Shared Items, and Google Reader comments in the mix. Also, friendfeed likes/comments, delicious linkbacks, and twitter URL mentions.
Building a working Temple of Ego is a real shit job these days.
posted by Matt Haughey at 12:15 PM on March 20, 2009
Mat Honan is quickly becoming one of my favorite people on the Internet. But btw nowhere in any of those answers did I see "gratuitous photos" - I think that's a key element that differentiates FB from Twitter. Twitpics just aren't the same.
posted by Rachel Sklar at 2:47 PM on March 20, 2009
++ to @Mat Honan for boiling down to essence.
Another perspective on the difference is in regard to time willing allocated by the audience. Twitter is for people who have available seconds. Tumblr readers have more. RSS readers have even more.
Thus when one posts to twitter, flickr, tumblr or traditional blog for the most part they are making a decision about how much time you expect someone to dedicate to your post. Or something like that.
And ++ @Matt Haughey. My Temple of Ego is kiling my back, and oh my aching knees and feet!
posted by Ted R. at 5:59 PM on March 20, 2009
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