John Zahariev is used to telling jokes his friends don’t seem to get.
The junior’s dry, sarcastic wit sometimes causes awkward moments, when people are offended by what was meant as a joke or they just do not see the humor the same way Zahariev does.
But on Tumblr, the social blogging site, Zahariev has found an audience of more than 1,900 followers who find his sense of humor something to appreciate and even share with others.
Since its start in 2007, millions of people have come to use Tumblr as a means of both expression and communication. Zahariev explains Tumblr as “a media blogging site where you can share media like text, photos, and such.” Zahariev initially became aware of the site when he saw updates from friends’ Tumblr accounts on his Facebook newsfeed.
“It looked like another thing to waste my time on, actually,” he admitted. He joined the site, creating the username ‘youmaynowlaugh’ based on his personal experiences.
“People have told me I’m a really funny and hilarious person and when I first started Tumblr, I really admired the ‘humor’ blogs, so I aspired to be one of them,” he explained. “However, there were also moments where I thought something was genuinely funny and nobody laughed, hence the whole ‘youmaynowlaugh’ username to show that it was sarcasm.”
At first, like other casual users, Zahariev acquired a few followers among friends and acquaintances; over time, however, word of his particular brand of humor spread on the blogging site. Another user, whose follower count was over 1,000, reblogged a joke of Zahariev’s, causing many people to find his blog and begin to follow him.
Because they enjoy the content of his blog, followers bypass constantly typing in Zahariev’s url and regularly see his posts on their personal homepages whenever they log in. Many of these users aren’t even from Houston. They can be anywhere, from California, to even in another continent.
“I currently have 1,941 followers, but I don’t follow everyone back,” said Zahariev. “I only follow blogs that I enjoy or like, because if I didn’t like or care about anything on their blog, what would be the point of following them in the first place?”
For now, Zahariev spends his time posting content he knows his followers will enjoy, but he knows the trend of having a blog on Tumblr will fade fast.
“Technology evolves really fast,” said Zahariev. “I doubt this site will still be popular in a decade. I for one will probably use this site less and less due to time constraints and any events that occur in my life.”
John Zahariev’s Tumblr page can be found at youmaynowlaugh.tumblr.com . Warning: Zahariev’s blog is written outside of school hours and some of the content may be inappropriate for campus viewing.
