Why David Karp Started Tumblr: Blogs Don't Work For Most People

Tumblr is an amazing story, but there is still a lot of room to grow in this world. You just have to look at pg's "Request for Startups post to see how much opportunity is still available http://ycombinator.com/ideas.html

29. Easy site builders for specific markets. Weebly is a good, general-purpose site builder. But there are a lot of markets that could use more specialized tools. What's the best way to make a web site if you're a real estate agent, or a restaurant, or a lawyer? There still don't seem to be canonical answers.

Along these lines I think there is a massive success for whoever comes up with a Tumblr-esqe site optimized for sharing recipes, crafting, and other "homey" activities. A few weeks ago I had 3 separate friends/coworkers coming to me for advice on which blog platform to use for a recipe site. Nothing really works great for this application and there seems to be a real desire for it. I'm sure there are dozens of other "verticals" like this that could grow to significant size. e.g. I could see a similar use case for guys who restore old cars. Go to an amateur car show and every guy will have a scrapbook showing off the restoration process. There is a lot of creativity that Tumblr isn't suited for or targeted at.

When I first found Tumblr, I didn't really get it. I wondered why I'd use the service when other services like WordPress are out there. Then I saw the quick, small side of it and wondered why I'd replace Twitter with it. But there is a great point here... It's a very good "in between" for people who don't want something too simple (allows them more control over content), but don't want something overly complex to set up or maintain, either.

I don't really get the difference between Tumblr and a blog. Every major tumblr I've seen is just a blog with a blank interface. You can do that anywhere else...