A quick tumblr guide for my students

1. Here’s a quick guide to using tumblr for your first assignment. I’ve included some additional information on adjusting the look of your blog as well. Hope this helps! Please feel free to email me at [email_address] with questions. I am available all day on Tuesday and will be in class at 5:30 if you need assistance with the assignment.

2. Step 1. Log in to Tumblr Step 2. Click on the name of your blog (if you named it) or “untitled” at the top of your screen to the right of “Dashboard”

3. This will bring you to your blog view. If you have already posted, you will see that post in the main area of the dashboard. You will want to pick a theme that suits you by clicking “Customize Appearance”.

4. On the left is your Customization area. On the right is your preview. The text there is for illustrative purposes only – it is not replacing your existing content.

5. Here is where you can edit the title of your blog. You can call it something as simple as “Doug’s Class Tumblr” or “Social Media Ramblings”. I named my blog DCADISMM for the course. My other tumblr is called “Crystalbat” which was my old etsy shop name. For illustrative purposes, I’ve named this blog “Student Test Blog”. This is ONLY what will appear at the top of your page and not in the web URL you selected previously. You can also add a description. For my blog it is “Kati Driscoll, Instructor” because I wanted it to appear a certain way. You can have yours say nothing at all or you can add a little bit about yourself. As this is being set up for class, it is totally your call! For the purpose of this demo, I have used a test name as the description.

6. To change the appearance of your blog, a simple thing you can do is go to “Themes”. Tumblr offers a bunch of really lovely themes you can use to tailor the look and feel of your blog a bit more to your liking. Many are free and those that are not will have the price indicated next to them.

7. Here I’ve selected the Minimalist theme from the right hand side. You can see it is selected because it is highlighted & the preview at the right shows it in use on my blog. When you find a theme you like, select “Use” at the top left of your screen. I use the Single A theme for our class blog - http:// singleatheme.tumblr.com / - in case you are curious!

8. For the sake of simplicity, we’re not going to get crazy with our tumblr so let’s save these changes by clicking “Save” at the top of the page. When you are done, you can then click “Close” to close out of Customization view.

9. When you close out of Customization view, it brings you back to your Dashboard. Notice that your “untitled” blog now has a title!

10. You can also change your avatar or user icon by clicking on the “Pick Avatar” link, selecting the photo you want to use and clicking “Open”. If it doesn’t work and automatically refresh the page, try again (I had to).

11. You’re all set to start posting! Just select the “Text” option for your first post for class…

12. Here you can post your assignment - a list of 10 things that you talk about all the time or generally interest you. If you are taking the course for business, please write down 10 topics that are relevant to your industry. Click "Create Post" at the bottom when you are done. Since we are keeping it simple, there is no need to include an image or any fancy formatting - unless you want to - at this point.

13. Your post will now appear in your Dashboard! Good work!

14. The finished product… for now!