Post a lot of photographs of thin, white women with dirty hair. No, really.

I’m serious.

I will be the first to admit that I love me some Tumblr and Pinterest. I use Pinterest as a catchall wishlist-cum-recipe-book and visit it about once a day. I used to obsessively Tumble (is that how you say it? I DON’T KNOW, I AM NOT SIXTEEN) every single day, but lately I’ve realized that the more time I spend on Tumblr the more I want to pull my hair out strand by bloody strand.

My problems with “content curation” sites (other than the use of the word “curation – GAG ME WITH A SPOON) are numerous. There are the obvious problems that come along whenever sites like these become popular with anyone outside of the inner-circle of net-nerds (card-carrying member, y’all). And, holy shit, are they popular. When I cruise on over to Pinterest and there are a bunch of UGG boots and sea-green polyester prom dresses splashed across the page, then I know I haven’t logged in to my own little comfortable hang-out with my friends. There is a quick one-minute panic as I click on the “log-in” button and wait for the monstrosities of fabric and sheep-skin to fade away into the internet ether. A big sigh of relief – there are my street-style photographs and brass jewelry from Etsy. Whew. That was close.

But therein lies another problem – the homogenization of “curated content.” On sites like Pinterest and Tumblr and Polyvore (another site based on the regurgitation of content that doesn’t belong to you) a member is usually part of a small community of like-minded individuals who they either know in “real life” or who they follow because of similar interests or aesthetics. The same images are reblogged throughout the community, often coming back to you once circling through your entire friend list. Similar photographs are reblogged. Your dashboard becomes a place of sameness and the potential for new, stimulating content is lessened.

And now we come to reblogging, the life-blood of these “content curation” websites, and the problem of attribution. Or, more specifically, the lack of attribution. In this day of “going viral,” leaving out attribution for images can be a costly mistake to the original creator. Even though the lightning-quick spread of images throughout a site like Tumblr is not monetized, the exposure and traffic generated could very likely bring the promise of future compensation to a young artist. Without attribution, this chance is lessened dramatically.

“For the most part, people aren’t failing to give credit out of malice or dishonesty. Some just can’t be bothered; with others, it’s an accident; and for many others, the information isn’t available because they’re discovering the content second-, third- or hundredth-hand, and the attribution fell off far up that reposting chain. – Rob Cottingham, in his post Where Credit’s Due: Why Attribution Is Important”

This society of “re-bloggers” troubles me greatly. This is what makes me want to pull my hair out when I visit my Tumblr dashboard – I follow several popular “fashion blogs” on Tumblr whose entire blog content is the regurgitation of images produced and created by others. “Inspirational images”, they’re called. Post after post of beautiful images from all over the creative spectrum: fashion editorials, personal flickr pages, blogs, portfolio websites. Images created by established artists and photographers and images created by the young and the unknown. I glory in the aesthetic feast, but I also want to throw things — because all I can think about is the person behind this so-called “fashion blog” and part of me has to wonder: Why are users of “content curation sites content (har-har) to re-post content that doesn’t belong to them?

And to make this more specific to the theme of style and fashion, here’s another question. Why do users who have the potential to re-post and re-blog an infinite selection of images choose the images that coincide with society’s idealized view of the “perfect woman” (skinny, white, etc)?

We are living in a world where the term “Tumblr famous” is a real thing. Doesn’t this make you sort of sad? Especially considering that the most famous of the “Tumblr famous” have built their following by distributing art that isn’t their own? THIS SHIT MAKES ME SO MAD. I might be grasping at straws or I might be a little unhinged, but it really does.

I have young female relatives – who I know to be intelligent and eloquent young ladies – who use their Tumblr blogs to reblog photograph after photograph of thin, white models. Original content is almost never included – neither is any attribution for artist, stylist or original publication. It’s all about the image – and the girl in the image. What might be touted as a “fashion” blog becomes nothing more than a manifesto of aspirational physical aesthetics – “I want to be tall, thin and white. I want to be ‘perfect.’” The clothes get second billing to the painfully obvious assertion that to be anything else is unacceptable.

This rambling, reaching post is an attempt to come to grips with this strange phenomenon of “content curation.” I love it. I use it. But Lord knows, I see the problems inherent in the system. I suppose a lot of this comes from my desire that anything as powerful and as popular as Pinterest and Tumblr have turned out to be would be utilized to bring change and the dissemination of intelligent discourse and ideas and beauty. I know that it is – there are countless blogs using the Tumblr platform that are created by people with fiery passions for what is right and what is ridiculous (see Carefree White Girl). But I guess the glut of “Tumblr famous” blogs and their steady stream of stolen material (because really, what else could it be called without correct attribution?) really gets me down.

What are y’alls thoughts on “curated content”? On attribution and reblogging?

If you googled “How To Be Tumblr Famous” and you got this post – I’m sorry. Let me give you something for your trouble. Here is my list of things to reblog if you want to become Tumblr Famous. Free of charge.

Graphic © Katy Jones (ATTRIBUTION, Y'ALL)

I made this image about four years ago and it was reblogged about 650 times. My only brush with being Tumblr famous was a diatribe in graphic form at the very institution of reblogging that I participated in. META!

I also know I put macaroons instead of macarons. Shows you how much twee-cred I possess (clue: NONE).

Katy Jones is the Editor of The Blind Hem. She is a fashion-school dropout with a Creative Writing BA from the University of Houston. She blogs at Dirty Hems, sells vintage clothing at Moonshine Hill and is usually spilling her guts on twitter. She lives in Texas.