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I have two tumblrs, a twitter, and a blogspot, and I think that half the time I spend on these social media sites is devoted to figuring out the different ways they communicate online presence, and the form this impression takes.

Social media rolls consumer generated art and self-promotion into one package. Users pick fonts, templates, colors, profile pictures, write bios, decide on layout, and so on. These tools make the business of promotion and the business of expression synonymous - not to say that the two weren't intertwined in the first place. Some sites appear organic; others more calculated. All, however, bet the identity of their various users against one another in the larger web of interconnected profiles and links, mobilizing the internet traffic necessary to a site's success.

People create something using readily available tools, i.e. the boxes, buttons, and code that lie beneath the sheen of the interface. However, I can't help but think about the underlying structure, namely, the currency signs that make themselves known through certain tabs. Whether or not a site is monetized is a moot point; the internet is all uncharted territory waiting for someone to stake their claim.

(Image credits: Tumblr, Blogger, Yuiseki, Mark Napier's Shredder)