June 2nd, 2009
Rewind a couple years… This right here was the very first thing that gave me that “oh shit, cool” feeling about Tumblr. I have to imagine that a very low percentage of the user base has even heard of Markdown and that an even lower percentage write their posts in it. However, to end it there is to miss the point entirely. The inclusion of this detailed little feature said to me: “Hi, I’m Tumblr! I’m simple to use but I’m not stupid. Even though I’m great for computer novices, I’m not going to punish you for being a power user.” That’s a hell of a powerful statement. Note: Marco did not pay me to write this post. (Incidentally, I always want to recommend Markdown to people, but I’ve come to the conclusion that it just isn’t for everybody and that’s okay. If you’re curious though, I suggest you check out the syntax.)

Rewind a couple years… This right here was the very first thing that gave me that “oh shit, cool” feeling about Tumblr. I have to imagine that a very low percentage of the user base has even heard of Markdown and that an even lower percentage write their posts in it.

However, to end it there is to miss the point entirely.

The inclusion of this detailed little feature said to me: “Hi, I’m Tumblr! I’m simple to use but I’m not stupid. Even though I’m great for computer novices, I’m not going to punish you for being a power user.” That’s a hell of a powerful statement.

Note: Marco did not pay me to write this post.

(Incidentally, I always want to recommend Markdown to people, but I’ve come to the conclusion that it just isn’t for everybody and that’s okay. If you’re curious though, I suggest you check out the syntax.)

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@topherchris

I work at Tumblr.
I live in Manhattan.
Dinosaurs are awesome.