Well, tumblr recently got $85 million. As usual Karp started spending that windfall. He already bought himself another toy, so it’s time for Karp to take his girlfriend on yet another trip – this time, to Paris.

They’ve been there three days, let’s pretend for business reasons. Because I know hard working student Rachel’s presence is required whenever Karp conducts tumblr business in foreign locales. But hey, if it’s a vacation they probably saved up money for a year or so and flew coach and are staying in a reasonably priced hotel, right? Of course right!

Tumblr investors: getting their money’s worth since 2009.

Following the likes of Matchbook, Brittany Abeijon and some other people have launched “The Facets Magazine“, an online mag that urges you to “Embrace your diverse life”.

A once-over of their current issue shows it boasts such “diverse” things as a fall fashion guide, Halloween costume ideas, and tips for Thanksgiving dinner. What a refreshing change from the usual fall magazine fare, to be sure. There is also an entire page of “feedback” from readers that rivals the comment section of any popular blog, with such gushing praise as “Amazing first issue – LOVE it!!”, and  typical trying-to-be-cute articles like “One woman’s love for pumpkin-flavored everything“.

I’m not sure why people keep creating these online “lifestyle” magazines. Especially when they create them in these lame faux magazine formats. If you want to do a digital zine fine, but that click to turn the page crap was cool in 2005; do it in a real website format and stop trying to give a ‘real magazine’ feel. If you want to give people pages to turn, PRINT a magazine. Otherwise, just create an email newsletter/website like a real e-zine.

And finally, may I just add that nothing says embracing diversity like two WASPs with a powder blue scooter hanging out near a clean, well-maintained sidewalk in what is probably an upscale neighborhood. I just can’t.

In the world of blogging there are many ways to fame. One is having content people want to read and providing that content on a consistent basis, slowly building a readership and community. Another is by pursuing other endeavors (freelance writing is a common option) to get your name out there and get people to your site.

Most bloggers nowdays take a third option: sucking up to already popular bloggers. Blog climbing can be done in various ways – some as simple as commenting on popular blogs and making sure to add your blog link in the comment, or tweetstalking the more successful bloggers until they acknowledge you. Some bloggers take the climbing to more blatant levels, forging strategic “friendships” with popular bloggers in order to piggyback on their fame and hoping eventually readers move over to their blog.

Kimberly of Eat Sleep Wear and Jessica Quirk of What I Wore have both been accused of blog climbing in the past. The healthy living blog community is so incestuous it’s impossible to tell who’s using who. Every mommy blogger out there seems to try to latch on to either Dear Baby or Rockstar Diaries.

But is this strategy really successful? How many bloggers have managed to become famous through association? Can you really turn a not-so-great blog into a sensation simply by blog climbing onto sites who have already established legitimacy? And finally, what happens if you make it and find you no longer want to keep up the charade with the blogger you used to get where you are?

It’s a slippery cliff to climb. But it seems to be the easiest, fastest way to get blog famous fast. Would you do it?

The tumblr staff, professional, continues its fine record of customer service and professional email responses. You may remember the Awesome Poundcake Scandal from about a year ago. Like an internet hydra the story just won’t die, and continues to get comments such as this gem from “Gino”:

I emailed them 16(!) weeks ago, today they replied. All I wanted to know was one of the complicated markups for their custom HTML coding, and this was only after hours of browsing.

They replied:
‘Sorry bro, not our problem. Try looking up the docs?’

Seriously? Worst Customer Service EVER

Surely no one is surprised that this sort of thing could happen. This is a company that responds to user complaints with an “if you don’t like it, leave” attitude on a regular basis. I’m still baffled as to who exactly allows staff members to respond in such a manner to users they no doubt hope to tap for revenue in the future.

By the way, when exactly are they going to start rolling out the 90283847235 batrillion awesome things they’ve promised users over the last 4 years? Surely they had to present some kind of plan or something to the folks who continue to fund them, right? Please tell me Karp didn’t just show up blinking his surprised deer eyes and mumbling about “community” and they just handed over 8 figures.

David Karp, Chief Executive Email Ignorer of tumblr, is famous for his post-funding spending sprees. Withing weeks of every round of funding tumblr squeezes out of investors Karp treats himself to several “check me out I’m rich” gifts. From taking his girlfriend to Asia to an apartment full of new furniture, from a pretty little Vespa to toys for his Vespa, from a “dream camera” to a new “off the grid” apartment in the West Village, Karp enjoys pissing away money on himself as fast as the VC’s can hand it to him.

After tumblr’s latest round of funding Karp apparently thought his Vespa might need a friend. Practically within minutes of the announcement that tumblr had secured $85 million in funding Karp posted a pic of his latest purchase: a motorcycle.

Well tonight Karp is taking his latest necessity out for a spin. We look forward to seeing what else he plans to buy with this latest wad of money. Perhaps hiring more of those super effective customer service people? Another group trip to the Hamptons so the staff can shotgun beer? A trip to Kenya to break ground on the tumblr Clean Water Foundation? Oh who are we kidding – he’ll buy a trip into space or a 9′ plasma tv for his apartment.

Jessica Quirk, of the midwestern Quirks, attended NYFW a couple of weeks ago. As usual, she failed at packing and failed at taking outfit photos, which many assume is the basis for her website. One would think an outfit blogger would make a point of documenting and sharing what she wore to the biggest outfit party of the year. One would be wrong:

She “didn’t focus on taking outfit photos”, people! That’s not what her site is about! Stop being rude and just tell her she looks tall!