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Tumblr founder loves 'Kim Jong Il' blog

John D. Sutter
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Tumblr removes limits from blogging
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • David Karp, 24, launched Tumblr in 2007
  • The site allows for short-form blogging, encourages creativity
  • Karp talked with CNN at a recent tech conference
  • His favorite Tumblr sites: Kim Jong Ill Looking at Things; and SoupSoup
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(CNN) -- Searching through Tumblr -- the not-quite-micro blogging platform that's a cross between Twitter and WordPress -- has a tendency to leave newbies confused and wondering if they're missing Tumblr's most interesting blogs.

So we asked the site's founder for a little direction.

His favorite Tumblr accounts?

Kim Jong Il Looking at Things (It's what it sounds like ... photos of the North Korean leader looking at stuff, ranging from flowers to tablet computers); and SoupSoup, the newsy blog by Anthony De Rosa, who works for Reuters.

David Karp, the 24-year-old New Yorker who founded Tumblr in 2007, sat down with CNN at a tech conference earlier this year to talk about his site as a host for creativity -- and randomness -- on the Internet.

What sets Tumblr apart from Facebook and Twitter?

Creativity, Karp says.

Tumblr is a place where you can post "stuff you're proud of," and where you can design your page to reflect your personality.

It's not just photos you've been tagged in, he says.

"Tumblr is the best place in the world for some of the most creative people in the world, so we're trying to build basically the best tools for self-expression," he said during an interview in Austin, Texas.

And how is it different from WordPress, the traditional blogging site?

It's easier, he said. It's easier to post a single link, a single photo or a quote -- instead of a big block of text, which is what WordPress tacitly encourages users to do.

"As someone who's not particularly verbose, traditional blogging platforms weren't really able to do that for me," he said. "I didn't enjoy sitting down at the end of the day to hammer out a multi-paragraph blog post."

What's your favorite Tumblr account? Let us know in the comments.

[TECH: NEWSPULSE]

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