Part of Series
What's more popular than Tumblr? This microblogging site has taken the Web by storm since its founding in 2007. Not much can top it when it comes to capturing its fans' imaginations, except for perhaps its creator, David Karp. Karp developed Tumblr after he tried to start a blog and found the process daunting. With most platforms, a blogger faces a huge, empty text box that begs to be filled with words. It was intimidating for a guy who'd never blogged before. Karp had the idea for tumblelogging―creating short blog posts―and built Tumblr as a platform. It lets users easily post both text and images, making Tumblr highly visual and expressive. Creating a different way to blog came naturally to Karp, who never does things by the book. At fifteen, he dropped out of school. At seventeen, he moved to Tokyo, holing up with a computer and fine-tuning his tech skills. He returned to the states to build a business―but to do that, he stretched the truth. He used a deep voice on the phone with potential clients so they wouldn't guess how young he was. He didn't tell anyone how little experience he had. Yet people could see he had a good thing going with Tumblr. The company quickly found support and grew into what it is a groundbreaking site for connection and creation. And as the mastermind behind it, Karp is sure to remain a figure to watch.
Author
My favorite book as a child was an educational book titled I Want to Be a Reporter. It was about the job of a reporter and described the skills needed to tell stories in writing. I asked my mom to read it to me every night. It was fascinating to me! Since discovering that book, I have loved the idea of writing for a living. As a K-12 educational writer and editor, I get to work on books and teaching materials that inform and inspire students. I have written about everything from the underwater home of a spider to the history of hip-hop music and WWI history. While I love researching and writing about all kinds of subjects, my experience so far has been mostly in science, social studies, biographies, music, and arts and crafts topics.
