Tumblr Hits 20 Billion Total Posts

Tumblr has hit a major milestone — 20 billion posts — a huge increase from the 12 billion posts figure it reached in November.
“Forgot to make a big deal of this earlier, but Tumblr crossed the 20-billion-post mark Monday night,” said a tweet from the official Tumblr account, with a link to Tumblr’s About page, which sports a counter showing the total number of Tumblr posts.
Currently, the number sits at more than 20 billion posts, 51 million of which were created today. Tumblr currently has more than 49.7 million total blogs and is due to hit the 50 million milestone any day now.
The rapid rise of Tumblr in the past year has been nothing short of amazing. In June 2011, Tumblr announced it had more blogs than WordPress.com — more than 20 million. It took less than nine months for Tumblr to double that number.
For comparison, WordPress powers more than 72 million blogs, about half of which are hosted on WordPress.com.

The simplicity and ease of use of Tumblr on one hand and similarity to microblogging services such as Twitter on the other, have apparently hit the right spot with a large number of users. One thing Tumblr still lacks is a viable business plan — despite significant funding. 

25 Outstanding Kitty-Themed Tumblrs [LOTS OF CATS]

1. Cats. Where They Do Not Belong

 

From the creator: "I decided there is not enough internet space devoted to pictures of cats trying to fit into anything they can, so I have graciously decided to take on this challenge."

We thank you.

2. Contortion Cats!

 

As far as "collections of contorted cats" go, this is particularly fine one.

 

3. The Kitten Covers

 

You'll get nothing but whiskers and win by following The Kitten Covers.

4. Dream Cats

 

With images of "girls and cats, cats in soft focus, cats on film and dream cats" you're sure to find something Pin-worthy here.

5. GIF Cat

 

A GIF-based blog slaving to "make the internet a better place."

6. Writers and Kitties

 

"Where literature has whiskers and pointy ears." You'll find plenty of vintage pics of literary types and their feline friends.

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7. Cats in Clothes

 

There are no surprises here. Just cats. In clothes.

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8. Garfield Minus Garfield

 

"Dedicated to removing Garfield from the Garfield comic strips in order to reveal the existential angst of a certain young Mr. Jon Arbuckle," Garfield Minus Garfield is surreal and funny.

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9. F*** Yeah Kitties

 

Simply celebrating cats.

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10. C$shcats

 

Cats plus piles and piles of cash make for strangely compelling viewing.

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11. Review of My Cat

 

This blog contains reader "reviews" of their cats, rating them on appearance, sociability, usefulness, huggability and a final, overall grade.

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12. Cat Watching You Have Sex

 

"You've always pretended they weren't watching you get it on. You've always been wrong."

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13. Worldy Cats

 

Cats from all corners of the globe feature on this feline-themed travelogue.

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14. Cats That Look Like Ron Swanson

 

Even if you don't know who Ron Swanson is, you should get some laughs here.

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15. Barely Feral

 

Barely Feral says it answers the question "what if there was a porn site designed by cats for cats?"

It's an X-rated answer, so adult-only click-throughs, please.

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16. I ♥ Cat Gifs

 

"All cat GIFs, all the time."

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17. Stoned Cats

 

Drugs are bad. If you're not convinced, check out what they have reduced these poor animals to.

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18. Cats in Front of Macs

 

This blog shares the "pain" of cats getting in the way of your laptop/iPad/iMac, etc.

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19. Aw Yeah Pudgy Kitties

 

If you like a cat with a bit of meat on its bones, this blog is for you.

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20. Celebrity Pussy

 

As "your premier source for celebrities with cats," Celebrity Pussy is both a fabulous online image library and we to like imagine, a constant source of disappointment from, ahem, certain Google users

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21. CAT SCIENTISTS OF THE 1960S

 

Lest we forget the important work done by cat scientists during the Sixties.

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22. F*** Yeah Cats

 

More cats.

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23. We Are the 99 Purrcent

 

The Tumblr home of the occu-paw movement.

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24. Cats in Ties

 

There's a joke somewhere about "The Long Tail," but we'll just say this is splendidly niche.

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25. The Cat Scan

 

Finally, our favorite cat-themed Tumblr is the glorious The Cat Scan.

It is probably responsible for a large percentage of cat scratches in recent years as kitty-owners try and persuade their recalcitrant pets to sit still on a humming, flashing box of evil long enough to be scanned.

Those that succeed -- we salute you!

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Wife of Army Sergeant Accused of Killing 16 Afghan Civilians Ran a Blog

The wife of a solider accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians kept a blog, wherein she shared the sadness of living thousands of miles from her husband while raising two children as well as excitement about adventure the future might bring.
Details about Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, who was recently jailed, transferred from Afghanistan to a holding cell in Kuwait and then to the brig at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., were kept under a tight lid for nearly a week after the incident. His wife’s blog, however, remained open to the public until early Sunday morning, reports The New York Times.
The blog reveals intimate details about Sgt. Bales and his family. When he was passed up for a promotion in March of last year, his wife wrote about being upset with the decision made “after all of the work Bob has done and all the sacrifices he has made for his love of his country, family and friends.”
But Bales’ wife mostly wrote about the basic day-to-day struggles of life as an Army mom.
She wished the Army would let her husband pick his next assignment, hoping for locations such as Germany (“best adventure!”) or Hawaii (“nuff said.”) She talked about surprise phone calls from her husband — one to discuss baby names when she was pregnant and Bales was abroad. In other entries, she talked about wanting her husband back home in Washington state.
“I only want the days to go by fast when it comes to Bob coming back home,” wrote Bales’s wife.
Bales’s wife gave birth to their daughter Quincy while her husband was in Kuwait. She received a call from Bales soon after delivery — and that story became a blog post.
“It was Bob calling from the airport in Kuwait!!” she wrote. “It was so good to hear his voice. I told him how the birth went and he got to hear Quincy squeaking in the background.”
In the last post on the blog, Bales’s wife wrote that she wanted the site to be a kind of “time capsule” for her family.
“I am hoping to blog about it and look back in a year,” she wrote, “to see how far we have come from right now.”
Recently revealed details of Sgt. Bales’s life suggest that he may have struggled with financial payments and repeated run-ins with the law. U.S. officials are expected to charge Bales “within a week.” The killings sparked violent protests of U.S. and NATO’s presence across Afghanistan and came immediately after a separate controversy involving the improper burning of copies of the Quran by NATO troops.

Eight Easy Ways to Boost Your Website on a Budget

Call me the website fairy. I know the last New Year’s resolution on your list is to revamp your website. You're most likely putting it off because you work too many hours, can’t afford a designer and you tense up every time you think about it.
The following tips from small-business owners will make your site discoverable to potential clients and attractive to a multiple-visit viewer. These ideas won’t cost you a dime or take forever to accomplish.
Boot-up your printer.
Blog strategically
If you don’t have a blog attached to your website, now is the time to set it up. Log on to WordPress and create a blog for free. Then, link the blog to your website or incorporate it by adding an extra page to your toolbar (YouTube tutorial).
Now that your blog is set up, what will you write about?
Write Q&As on influencers in your industry, suggests Rusty Shelton, founder of Shelton Interactive. If you're launching an accounting firm, reach out to accounting professors in your area and ask to interview them. Ask them about the latest accounting trend or related news, and transcribe the interviews into blog posts. Ask the professors to link their own Facebook pages or websites to your post to give you more exposure.
Shelton recommends blogging at least three times a week and writing 500 to 750 words per post. You don’t have to interview influencers in each post. Write about current events through the lens of your business expertise. You might even attract journalists looking for a credible expert to comment on a news story.
“Last year, a neurologist client wrote a blog post about the Gabby Giffords tragedy,” says Shelton. “He got a call from 20/20 to comment. It was tremendous publicity for him.”
You can also write up case studies. If you see someone in your industry doing something interesting, call and ask for an interview. Chances are they’ll be thrilled to get the publicity and the two of you can cross-promote—a win-win.
Incorporate video
Adding video to a website has never been easier. Just take a smartphone or Flip video camera (available for about $70) and start recording. Begin with a welcome video that explains what your business is about and introduces you as the owner, says Shelton. Put the video on YouTube or Vimeo and upload it to your homepage.
“Having a video on your homepage is a great way to instantly connect with the site visitor,” he says.
Consider posting a video blog every few weeks. Focus on a topic area you're passionate about or ask a client to give an on-camera testimonial. Interview industry thought leaders and record how-to videos.
“Plumbers can do a video on how to unclog a drain or how to deal with a flood,” Shelton says. “Think about real issues people are facing and provide valuable information that will help them. It will build good will among potential customers and they'll share it with others.”
Offer free resources in exchange for e-mails
Post valuable information and you may snag a client for life. Shelton suggests that you create a box on your homepage called "Free Resources." Write a list of useful information and save it in PDF format.
For example, if you are a home designer, make a checklist for people to run through before choosing a color palette. If you’re an accountant, create a checklist of documents needed to prepare taxes accurately.
Post the downloadable PDF in your Free Resources box, and allow downloads only if viewers subscribe to your e-mail newsletter.
“The exchange is important; it allows a business owner to build a direct line to potential customers,” notes Shelton. “Just make sure to change out resources often. You don’t want your website to look like a brochure where there is no reason to go back.”
Register with business-listing sites
Discoverability is vital to the success of a small-business website. Entrepreneurs should register business sites on Yelp and Yahoo Local. Try Bing Local and Google Places. Peter T. Boyd, founder of PaperStreet Web Design says doing this will not only help your search engine optimization (SEO), it will also validate your existence to customers searching for your services.
Add social media-sharing tools
Have you noticed how every article on The New York Times website gives you the option to Tweet it and share it on your Facebook page? This helps to spread the word about articles and brands.
Small-business owners should offer social media-sharing tools on their sites.
“Search is shifting to social,” says Alicia Marie Phillips, a digital-marketing consultant. Every time you type a search term into Google, the first few links that appear are related items shared by people in your network. Adding sharing tools on your site broadens your reach to potential customers.
“If you don’t have a way to tap into Facebook, Twitter and Google+ on your site, you are missing out,” Phillips says. “People really pay attention to what their friends share.”
If you're not sure how to add social media tools to your site (YouTube tutorial).
Offer daily or weekly deals
As a consumer, nothing catches my eye more than a great deal. Try offering a daily or weekly deal that is exclusive for your online customers and publicize it on your homepage. Talk to your customers in person about these deals, too, recommends Ben Nesvig, social media manager at Snap Social Media.
“Do what you can to blur your offline and online business worlds,” Nesvig suggests. “Consider doing merchandising that promotes your website, along with an incentive to go there.”
Pay attention to keywords
The better your search-engine ranking, the better your potential to capture more page views and, ultimately, more customers. How do you cement yourself on Google’s first page?
“Pay attention to the Google Keywords Tool,” recommends Phillips. “Run a few searches for words that describe your business. The tool will tell you what keywords perform well in search and the ones that don’t. Incorporate popular words into your site to increase your ranking.”
Watch your analytics
Check out the backend workings of your website and you might be surprised by what you find. Register for Google Analytics and you'll be able to see which blog posts are doing best on your site, what keywords are bringing up your homepage and which pages are getting the most clicks.
“Pay attention to these analytics," says Jann Mirchadani, owner of Marketing Café, a digital marketing firm. "They will help guide you in creating more content that is meaningful to your audience."
What website improvement ideas can you share with small-business owners?

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