There's Something About Mary... I mean Tumblr

Founded in 2007 by the frequently carded David Karp, Tumblr is the premier microblogging website.  The service allows users to post multimedia and other content to a short-form blog, named a "tumblelog", but there's much more to the company's strategy than meets the eye.

There is clearly something unique emerging from Tumblr that surpasses the self-expressions of Facebook and Twitter. Tumblr nurtures a feeling of community and collaboration.  In a recent interview with the New York Times, Mr. Karp said, 'Google, Twitter, Facebook: they’re obsessed with “optimizing” services, design, functionality and aesthetics through constant testing and tweaking.'  Mr. Karp isn't focused on that.  He designed Tumblr for himself, rather than following the format of most other large tech companies that are “metrics driven.” Fortunately, David Karp has very wealthy investors behind him who are willing to see how a non-metrics focused company will playout.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/15/magazine/can-tumblrs-david-karp-embrace-ads-without-selling-out.html?ref=advertisingandmarketing