There are two secrets to Tumblr's runaway success: design and community engagement.
In 2012, the microblogging network became one of the top 10 most visited sites in the world, with an audience of roughly 170 million people per month—a dedicated userbase that includes everyone from President Obama and Beyonce to fandom communities and GIF artists. While Tumblr Storyboard—the company’s in-house editorial operation—helps spotlight and foster users’ creative contributions, the site’s simplistic interface drives the sharing of content, according to Lee Rubenstein, Tumblr's seventh user and cofounder of art forum EatSleepDraw.