San Clemente Web University: FREE Web Marketing & Advertising Classes

It just got easier to communicate with users on the Tumblr microblogging platform, thanks to a new integration with Chatwing.

Tumblr's recent surge in popularity is often referenced in conjunction with its supposed limitations, namely that it appeals to a younger audience and that only its visual content is likely to go viral. The latter assumption leads many marketers to believe that the site is lacking when compared to other social networks such as Google+, Facebook and Twitter in terms of fan engagement.

While that may not necessarily be true, it has caused some established brands to hesitate before migrating to Tumblr. But the new Chatwing partnership will introduce a website chat widget to Tumblr that adds an element of communication that never existed before.

Chatwing has been integrated with Facebook for some time now, and has greatly improved the communication experience for many global companies. Now Tumblr users will also be able to add the chat box to their blogs and quickly share and receive information from their followers to expand their social horizons.

The latest version of the Chatwing tool is available to Tumblr users, including a filter for “indecent” words and a greater selection of emoticons and avatar displays.

Social data provider Gnip has announced a partnership with Tumblr where they will have full access to the publishing platform's firehose - the full feed of Tumblr's 50 million new posts each day - and making the information available for business analysis.

Tumblr, which is growing rapidly and a company that I believe is the next major acquisition target (we're looking at you Facebook now that Twitter snapped up Posterous), currently receives over 15 billion monthly pageviews - that's a lot of data. Couple that with other data that reveals that Tumblr is only second to Facebook is social engagement and we start to see the value in this partnership.

"Our goal is to be the single source of record for all public conversations online," said Chris Moody, President and COO of Gnip. "As one of the most vibrant online communities in the world, there's an enormous amount of public conversation taking place on Tumblr. We're thrilled to be able to make this available for the first time."

Tumblr join several other noteworthy Web and technology companies including Twitter, WordPress, Disqus, IntenseDebate, StockTwits and Newsgator in partnering with Gnip to make their public data available for analysis.