UX Writing Portfolio

Hello! 

Here are a few self-initiated projects that I made from the Tumblr app. But first of all, I will present brief information about the Tumblr application, Tumblr users' characteristics and Tumblr voice and tone. The goal of these information is to be the guide in making revamp/revisions to the existing microcopy.

Tumblr application: An microblogging and social networking website founded by David Karp in 2007 and currently owned by Automattic. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content to a short-form blog. Users can follow other users' blogs. Bloggers can also make their blogs private. 

Tumblr users : 

• Based on age : Tumblr users are classified as young people; the average age group is a mix of older Gen Z members and younger Millenials (between 18 - 34 years old) (Source: Audience Project, 2020). 
• Based on gender : Tumblr users are equally split between the genders (50% male, 50% female) (Source: AudienceProject, 2020). 
• Based on educational background : Tumblr users are people who having education in High School or have graduated from high school and people who having education in College or have a college degree (Source: We are Flint, Statista)
• Based on technological inclination : more Tumblr users are living in metropolitan areas. There is a hypothesis that urban dwellers feel more disconnected from the society around them. Thus, they feel the need to form attachments, even virtual ones. They incline to use technology to form virtual attachments using social media. It is also supported by good internet infrastructure and connectivity (Source: We are Flint, Statista)

Tumblr app voice and tone: All notifications and instructions on the Tumblr application are written in short sentences. It also uses the diction that we usually use in our daily life. Tumblr reflects a simple, straightforward and casual personality through the voice and tone in its microcopy.

Self-Initiated Project

There are some spots in the Tumblr app that gave me the inspiration to make this project. I am trying to revamp the microcopy in these following places:

1. Replies  Empty  State  Message

Picture 1. Application Flow I

Challenge:  Make the microcopy in this part to be more concise and easier to understand

Solution:  Simplify the microcopy and make it more straight to the point    

What I did:  The original copy of "Replies Empty State Message" is actually quite concise but still a bit convoluted in the "....when you make a post to see replies" part. If we look at the Tumblr users' characteristics which are dominated by educated young people who have a tendency to use social media, we are sure that the users will understand that they need to make a post first to see their first reply. Here, the "when you make a post" part sounds a little convoluted and ineffective. So, in my revision, I changed the redaction of this sentence into "...from your post". I put these new words at the very end of the sentence because these words are only positioned as an explanatory sentence.

I also put the function of this "Replies" option in the more highlighted place. In the original copy, "...to see the replies" sentence (which actually tells the main function of this option) was placed at the end of the sentence. I put that sentence in more highlighted space in my revision, which is right after the "Check out this tab" instruction.     

 

2. Account Tab

Picture 2. Application Flow II

In the original version of the Tumblr app, there were only 3 options to see when you open the account tab (Posts, Likes and Following). If we open the account tab of Tumblr competitors such as Twitter and Instagram, we can see the “following” option placed side by side with the “followers” option. It was quite strange to find the “following” option so easily on the app but couldn’t find the “followers” option with the same ease. 

Challenge:  Make the Tumblr app easier to operate as a social media.

Solution:  Add menu/option needed

What I did:  In my revision, I placed the “followers” option right beside the “following” option. The goal is to make it easier for users to check the lists of their followers and decide with whom they want to interact.