I remember when we first told readers about Twitter two years ago or so. We scoffed at the name, mocked the idea, scorned the notion, made fun of anyone who'd use it ...

All right, so we were wrong in assessing its popularity — no matter how much there is still to scoff at with all things Twitter.

So in the same spirit of spreading the word about emerging ways of getting your marketing words out there, you should likely familiarize yourself with the name Tumblr, which the New York Times is saying today may be the next social media bandwagon on which to jump. Basically, Tumblr seems to be a new, easy way to blog, post photos, videos and audio.

How's that make it different from Facebook and Twitter? You'd best check out the Brandweek story here. It'll give you a better idea of how it works than I can — but still in terms that make me think even they can't envision all the possibilities. I'm afraid I keep recalling that scene in "This is Spinal Tap," where the guy is talking about how their music is louder because their amplifiers go up to 11. Apparently Tumblr, aside from having a name that doesn't have the word "twit" in it, yet still comes perilously close to having the word "dumb" in it, helps you to aggregate other blogs and information. So in a jewelry retail setting, you might be able to bring together jewelry, fashion and celebrity blogs of interest to your customers. Or who knows what else? We certainly couldn't think of anything when Twitter first appeared. Lack of vision, I guess.

Great thing about Tumblr, though, is it integrates with your Facebook and Twitter accounts, so you can Tweet about what you've Tumbled, and all your fans and friends will know. Somewhere in there, you might try to squeeze in selling some jewelry too.