David's Log

"People will tell you that white wine gets red wine stains out of the carpet. It does not."

Fri, 11 May 2012 23:43:52 -0400

“People will tell you that white wine gets red wine stains out of the carpet. It does not.”

- Mark Coatney: The Most Important thing I Can Tell You

NY Times: NYC Has Fastest-Growing Tech Industry in...

Thu, 10 May 2012 11:07:28 -0400

NY Times : NYC Has Fastest-Growing Tech Industry in U.S.

Tumblr’s mess hall! I look like Matt and Fredrik just woke me up.

Photo

Wed, 09 May 2012 01:49:46 -0400

The Evolution of the Tumblr Dashboard

Mon, 07 May 2012 14:17:17 -0400

The Evolution of the Tumblr Dashboard

Soon…

Sun, 06 May 2012 12:39:30 -0400

Soon…

Signs of spring in Central Park: 1) Trees turn green 2) Flowers...

Sun, 06 May 2012 11:14:34 -0400

Signs of spring in Central Park:

1) Trees turn green

2) Flowers bloom

3) Blackwolf the Dragonmaster begins asking people to feed cash to his dragon.

— Humans of New York

I forgot to eat lunch and dinner today and am starting to become delirious. Just asked Rachel to...

Fri, 04 May 2012 01:13:08 -0400

I forgot to eat lunch and dinner today and am starting to become delirious. Just asked Rachel to “make the TV be funny”.

The squares marked A and B are the same shade of gray

Thu, 03 May 2012 21:25:23 -0400

The squares marked A and B are the same shade of gray

House of Leaves is really hard to read out loud.

Wed, 02 May 2012 21:52:37 -0400

House of Leaves is really hard to read out loud.

"He’s got an ear for UI design."

Wed, 02 May 2012 19:08:01 -0400

“He’s got an ear for UI design.”

- Derek

GPOYW: Newsweek! Photo by Andrew Hetherington

Wed, 02 May 2012 19:07:34 -0400

GPOYW: Newsweek!

Photo by Andrew Hetherington

Betabeat: The Ever-Affable David Karp Talks Tumblr’s...

Tue, 01 May 2012 21:20:32 -0400

Betabeat: The Ever-Affable David Karp Talks Tumblr’s Two-Pronged Advertising Strategy at Decoded Fashion Conference

“Affable”?!

One correction: I swear I don’t have “contempt for advertising”. I was describing the state of digital advertising, which I find sorely uncreative at the moment. :)

"When you do something noble and beautiful and nobody noticed, do not be sad. For the sun every..."

Tue, 01 May 2012 18:08:45 -0400

“When you do something noble and beautiful and nobody noticed, do not be sad. For the sun every morning is a beautiful spectacle and yet most of the audience still sleeps.”

- John Lennon

Tempus fugit

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 10:43:00 -0400

John:

I’ll start by saying it has been an absolute joy and privilege to be the President of Tumblr these past four years

To work alongside these special people, with our intense focus on product, positivity, fun and whimsy — from our small team came what is now a community of over 50 million

It’s been a seminal experience, and I’m proud of the work

I told the team and board this week that it’s time for me to transition away from running day-to-day operations. It’s the right time for me and a good time for Tumblr. We’re in great hands with David and the excellent leadership team we’ve built. The company is filled with amazing people

That said, I’m not going very far. The transition from running ops is effective immediately, but I’m sticking close w/ David, the team and company. There’s more work to do and I want to help see it thru

I feel really fortunate that my life is filled with good things - my family, dear friends, and an entrepreneurial career that now includes the magical Tumblr years

I’m going to spend more time with my family, more time supporting startups/founders, paying some things forward, and learn a bunch of new things

Regarding my friend David, who I just worked with for basically eight years over two startups. First at mine, then at his. He’s an amazing person and talent, I learned a ton from David

The team will ship some awesome new stuff next week and I’ll be there for it

Thanks everyone
John

For anyone who hasn’t heard John and my backstory before:

In 2002, we were introduced over the phone by my then boss (and John’s friend). John needed a programmer in a pinch after his startup, UrbanBaby, was featured on the news (Good Morning America, I think) and its database was maxing connections.

16-year-old David did my best to jump in and help, and John was nice enough to keep passing me projects over the next few weeks. A couple months in, he offered me my first full-time programming gig.

John was the same ridiculously delightful person many of you have gotten to know. Growing up with him was a joy, and as a mentor he taught me, among many things, how to convincingly act like an adult.

Along the way, and w/o me asking or knowing, John and his unstoppable generosity saw fit to set some stock aside for me.

When UrbanBaby was acquired by CNET, that stock seeded my startup, Davidville. Two years later, Davidville launched Tumblr.

A little more than a year after that, Tumblr was going full-bore. We were pushing updates every day. We raised a bunch of money. And we had just passed a million users.

I was also completely neglecting: our bills, our investors, our office, hiring, our lawyers, and the thousands of emails that were sitting in my inbox.

And that’s when I got a note that John had wrapped up at CNET and was doing some consulting for NY startups.

We grabbed lunch later that week, caught up about life, and then I asked if he might help me get things in order at Tumblr.

He said he’d set up his desk the next day.

I don’t know exactly what happened after that because – like he does – John magically put everything in order.

With him in my life again, I got to spend every hour of every day working on the product I love.

John was the catalyst for everything we’ve accomplished. I can’t fathom where I’d be today — though I bet I’d have a CS degree :) — if we hadn’t met when we did. And I can’t begin to imagine what kind of person I would have become without John in my life.

I love you, John. Thank you for looking out for and teaching us all so much.

Don’t go far!

I don’t know what made me think Clark would let me...

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 20:06:00 -0400

I don’t know what made me think Clark would let me photograph his food

Considering taking the Phone app off my home screen.

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 17:40:58 -0400

Considering taking the Phone app off my home screen.

Photo

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 18:46:22 -0400

"Just keep playing, no matter how weird it gets."

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 10:40:59 -0400

“Just keep playing, no matter how weird it gets.”

- Bob Dylan, to Levon Helm and The Band before their first concert together

Photo

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 21:40:45 -0400

Jesus Christ

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 17:54:34 -0400

Jesus Christ