Spotlight on Tumblr blogger: Eleanor Joan Ong
For any average blogger, getting 200 followers on low-key blogging platform Tumblr is already hard enough. But not for 25-year-old Eleanor Joan Ong who now has over 28,000 followers on her blog.
The part-time Psychology lecturer, who teaches at two educational institutions, has a flair for writing thought-provoking and highly relatable quotes that make her Tumblr followers love her so much.
This is because Tumblr bloggers – in general – are an introverted and emotional bunch and the majority of them would go to the platform to explore quotes and photos that speak to melancholia. Once they see something that they can relate to, they would either click the “heart” button or they reblog the piece.
Reblogging, according to Ong, translates to something she calls “borrowed eloquence”. These emotional bloggers love to express themselves but at most times, are unable to do so and would reblog the things that are posted by others who feel the same way.
It is partly because of this that eletheowl.tumblr has become the go-to blog for many since it was set up in 2009.
But there is more to why her blog is so special. Recently, Yahoo Singapore caught up with Ong in-between classes when she shared the secrets to her accidental success: popularity.
Tumblr bloggers love quotes
Tumblr bloggers love quotes so much that the hashtag #quote is almost always trending on the blogging platform. This fits perfectly with Ong, who has a flair for writing quotes. The Literature lover claims that she is obsessed with writing quotes about emotions, mostly about love, and needed a space to pour out her thoughts. Before setting up a Tumblr blog, she said that she would write in notebooks. She currently has a collection of “pretty” notebooks sitting at home. According to Ong, the first quote that “exploded” on the internet goes like this: “I don’t think people love me, they love versions of me I have spun for them, versions of me they have construed in their minds…”
Some compliments from her followers:
A big group of Tumblr bloggers are lonely and need someone to talk to
Bloggers, including those in the US, Australia and Europe, would visit Ong’s blog to chat with her via the message feature. Ong, who appears to be the "Aunt Agony" for many of her followers, would give advice to those with problems. “The people on Tumblr tend to be socially awkward… I think I have a way with words and I know the right things to say," she shared.
Tumblr bloggers are predominantly female
According to Ong, there are more females approaching her via her blog and feels that she appeals to them. Her favourite reads include those by author Margaret Atwood and Sylvia Plath, two well-known names in the feminist realm.
Tumblr bloggers love images
The blogging platform itself is laden with image posts that are continuously reblogged by others. Ong mixes up her posts with images, mainly of nature, such as photos of the beach and snow. Many of these are not originally snapped by her — she would reblog them from other Tumblr sites. Even so, those photos attract people to her blog too.
