Inspiration (noun) – a) a divine influence or action on a person believed to qualify him or her to receive and communicate sacred revelation b) the action or power of moving the intellect or emotions c) the act of influencing or suggesting opinions (via Merriam-Webster.com).
Musicians, writers, poets and artists seem to constantly refer to this abstract idea of inspiration. They were inspired by something, they felt inspired after this and after that, they felt such inspiration that it led them to an end product. Merriam-Webster’s definition offers a few definitions, the most poignant being that inspiration moves the intellect or emotion. It evokes a strong reaction. It influences your opinions and your actions. In short, inspiration makes you feel something.
Each Monday on this blog, we’ll discuss something that inspires us. Something that moves our intellect and emotions, something that influences our opinions, something that makes us feel. Mondays are hard enough as it is, so we’ll try to lessen the pain by offering something inspiring to think about during that second cup of coffee.
And there’s nowhere better to start than with the popular social blogging site Tumblr. Seemingly created to inspire, Tumblr is a great way to get the wheels turning in your rusty brain. The site, created in 2007, boasts 44.3 million unique blogs and 15 billion monthly page views. 120 million people blog on Tumblr, and the average user spends 30 minutes a day on the site. Impressive stats, indeed.
Tumblr’s visually focused platform lends itself well to being a source of quick inspiration. The dashboard is the main navigation tool in the site, letting users post images, text, video, etc. while at the same time allowing users to peruse the latest posts from those they are following. The options are truly unlimited when it comes to who’s blog you can follow. There are Tumblrs focused on art, books, entertainment, news, cars, music, animals, Ryan Gosling… really, anything and everything.
Tumblr’s platform encourages users to employ large visuals and minimal text, which makes it especially conducive to quick inspiration. It offers thousands of snapshots of beautiful, creative, interesting things all at once, and the use of text tends to be something short and pithy. Some things will resonate with you, some things won’t, some things you’ll absolutely love, some things you’ll hate.
The genius of Tumblr lies in simplicity. Users post what inspires them, reblog what inspires them, keep a daily record of what inspiration means to them. It’s intuitive. Users fill their blogs with images, text, songs, illustration, comics– anything that matters to them, anything that resonates with them, anything that makes them feel something– and thereby spread their interests, their inspiration, their motivation through a community of 120 million people.
Check out a few of our favorite Tumblrs here, here and here. Peruse through those during your third? cup of coffee. We guarantee they’ll be something there that inspires you. Maybe a particular infographic will turn your boring presentation around, maybe a song will jolt you out of your writer’s block, maybe a beautiful photo will add something to your lackluster powerpoint. Regardless, take a look at Tumblr. It’ll be worth your time, if only to illuminate an otherwise dull Monday.
