Difference Between Pinterest and Tumblr

Pinterest vs Tumblr

Social networking is growing exponentially and the number of social networking sites are also growing and overlapping each other in terms of the service they provide. A good example of this is Pinterest and Tumblr, which serve pretty much serve the same purpose. Despite the similarity, there are still a number of differences in how they work. The main difference between Pinterest and Tumblr is their focus. Pinterest is primarily a link sharing site where you can post things that you’ve found interesting on the internet. On the other hand, Tumblr is more of a microblogging site where you upload things that interest you and say your thoughts about certain issues.

When it comes to their designs, Pinterest and Tumblr are very different. Tumblr adopts a somewhat minimalistic approach with its linear single column design. You only have a handful of posts in each page and you can easily go from the newest to the oldest post. On the other hand, Pinterest’s design is a bit busier with five columns in a page. Tumblr’s approach is simpler and easier to navigate but you do need to go through a number of pages while Pinterest’s approach lets you see a lot in a single page but you have a higher chance of missing something.

In terms of functionality, there is a major difference between Pinterest and Tumblr when it comes to how you post new stuff. In Tumblr, all the content you like to post need to be uploaded manually. This can be quite tedious if you found a photo online and you want it on your Tumblr page. With pinterest, you can quickly achieve the same thing by just linking to the image you found. Pinterest would then do the rest and you would not have to download and upload the image. This also provides you with a beneficial side effect. Since Pinterest knows where you got the image, it automatically indicates the source and true owner of the image; a good thing, considering the copyright infringement issues that have been dogging both Pinterest and Tumblr. Tumblr cannot do the same, so you need to manually indicate where you got the image if it is not yours.

Summary:

  1. Pinterest is a link sharing site while Tumblr is a microblogging site
  2. Pinterest has a multiple column format while Tumblr has a linear format
  3. Pinterest lets you link to pictures online while Tumblr does not
  4. Pinterest can automatically indicate the source of the image while Tumblr cannot