David Karp Facts – # 50 fun facts

David Karp Facts – Biography

David Karp Date of birth – Early life

1) Bornin 1986

David Karp, founder of short-form blogging Tumblr, is born on Sunday, July 6, 1986 in Manhattan.

2) Family

David Karp is the son of Michael D. Karp who is a famous film and TV composer.

Michael marries a high school teacher, Barbara Ackerman and they have two sons, David and Kevin.

3) Separation of Parents

David Karp’s parents do not really have a happy marriage and the two separate eventually when David turns 17.

David Karp Education

4) Early Education of David Karp

David Karp completes his early education from the Calhoun School.

Here he studies in 3rdgrade and continues to study at the same school until he passes 8thgrade.

His mother, Barbara Ackerman, is a Science teacher in the same school.

5) Begins Learning HTML

It is sometimes amazing how early some children can start doing things that no one can even imagine.

This holds so true for David Karp.

David starts learning HTML when he is only 11 years old.

Not only that, he also helps the local companies by designing websites, thanks to his ever-increasing interest in technology and science.

6) Bronx Science, NY

David Karp goes to Bronx Science, NY.

However, he soon loses interest and leaves the school only after completing one year of education.

He then starts homeschooling and wishes to join a college in New York, however, David never returns to school, not even to complete his high school diploma.

David Karp: Early Career

7) Internee for Fred Seibert

David Karp manages to do exceptional things as a professional.

At the age of 14, he joins Frederator Studios as an internee for animation producer Fred Seibert.

He becomes the internee at the studio thanks to his mother who is the Science teacher of Fred’s children and also his wife’s friend.

8) Exceptional Performance

One of the exceptional things David Karp manages to do during his professional career certainly includes completing a task at UrbanBaby within just four hours, which he was supposed to do in a few days.

Due to his exceptional performance, John Maloney, the founder of UrbanBaby, not only appoints David as the head of product but also makes him a partner by giving him equity.

Tumblr, founded by David Karp

9) Tumblr – David Karp

David Karp’s idea to come up with Tumblr, the short blogging platform, is a huge success.

It is officially launched in November 2007.

In just a span of two weeks, 75,000 users came on board.

Currently, Tumblr has around 87 million blogs under its belt making this venture immensely successful.

10) Celebrities on Tumblr

David Karp’s Tumblr is the home of blogs of many famous celebrities.

In fact, it is Tumblr that hosts US President Barack Obama’s blog for the first time back in October 2011.

Apart from hosting the blog of such a significant political figure, Tumblr currently hosts blogs of celebrities namely John Mayer, Lady Gaga and Zoey Deschanel.

11) About Tumblr

David Karp initially creates Tumblr as a tool for himself.

He is tired of other blog websites and is unhappy with their setup and lack of creativity.

He wants a place where he does not just have to post a written blog; he wants a place where he can share his identity and his ideas in any form.

With Tumblr, the focus is mainly on multimedia content, and allows users to post written work, pictures, and videos.

12) Evolution of Tumblr

David Karp begins Tumblr with no real plan in mind.

He does not expect it to grow with such fervor and popularity.

He thinks it will be nice for himself and friends to use, and before he knows it, Tumblr evolves into a popular site with thousands of users.

13) Tumblr Directory

Tumblr constantly evolves, and finds ways to improve the website for users.

One major adoption of Tumblr is the use of a directory.

Bloggers can create a spot for themselves in the directory with a name and a picture.

Karp says this is an eye opening experience as it shows the thousands of unique blogs and creations.

14) The Lean Interface of Tumblr

Every time a new feature is added to Tumblr, an older one is removed.

This keeps the Tumblr interface and applications clean and easy to use.

Employees to remain focused on creating new ideas.

15) Unity Amongst Team at Tumblr Office

The Tumblr work environment is unified in the way it deals with daily work routines.

Everyone eats lunch together, in the office.

This unity and loyalty within the Tumblr office is reflected in their devotion to the work they are producing.

16) Tumblr’s Growth

Karp is not concerned about Tumblr’s growth.

He is aware of what other large internet websites are worth, but he has faith in the success of Tumblr.

He has a relaxed attitude towards success, and is happy with the way things are going.

17) Platform for Creative People

Tumblr is mainly a platform for creative minds.

Photographers, musical artists and fashion designers are a large part of Tumblr and attract many followers on Tumblr.

85% of Tumblr users post something on Tumblr more than 20 times each month.

18) Newspaper Blogs on Tumblr

Tumblr blogs have become popular even amongst national newspapers.

The New York Times and Newsweek both have blogs that are popularly accessed on Tumblr.

The blog created by the New York Times is called ‘The Lively Morgue’.

19) More on Tumblr

The main idea behind Tumblr is that the users should be able to post anything they want, from random thoughts to audio and visual works.

Users should be able to customize their posts any way they want, and Tumblr aims to create a platform for both of these requirements.

20) Difference Between Tumblr and Other Social Media Sites

Tumblr, much like its founder David Karp, is a strong supporter of creativity and the main aim of Tumblr is to facilitate that creativity.

Karp says the main difference between Tumblr and Facebook and Twitter is that while the latter two are  more focused towards ‘followers’ and sharing information, Tumblr is more about creating something.

21) Selling Tumblr to Yahoo!

In the early years of Tumblr, many companies were trying to get David Karp to sell.

Karp says that it was tempting, thinking at the time that he can make a lot of money in a short span of time without doing much work.

However, Karp had a personal attachment to Tumblr, and initially he didn’t feel to giving it away…

On May 20, 2013, it was announced that Yahoo and Tumblr had reached an agreement for Yahoo! Inc., represented by then CEO Marissa Mayer, to acquire Tumblr for $1.1 billion in cash

Other Ventures by David Karp

22) Davidville

David Karp begins his own consulting company, Davidville.

He finds a partner via Craigslist, Marco Arment, who becomes the company’s engineer.

Both David Karp and Arment are interested in blogging, and begin working together on tumblelogs, which are short form blogs in 2006.

Tumblr is officially launched in 2007 and within only two weeks, has over 70, 000 users.

23) Closes His Consulting Company

Towards the end of the year 2007, Karp closes his consulting company, as he is becoming much more involved with Tumblr.

Clients of his consultancy company are becoming increasingly frustrated with his lack of commitment and time.

Karp thinks it is unfair to promise his clients what he cannot offer, and focuses all of his attention on Tumblr.

January 2013 statistics state Tumblr has over 87 million blogs.

24) Accomplishments

Some people are able to accomplish a lot at a young age.

David Karp has certainly done that.

Due to his success, he ranks among one of the top 35 innovators in the world, who are not even 35 years old yet, in the year 2010.

Not only that, currently Forbes rates his company to stand at a net worth of $800 million with his personal worth exceeding $200 million.

David Karp Philosophy

25) Relaxed Workplace Atmosphere

Karp has created a comfortable and relaxed atmosphere in his Tumblr workplace.

The conference room has no tables and is furnished with comfortable couches and chairs.

Karp likes to sit amongst his employees and be able to see everyone at all times.

Even though coworkers are sitting around one another, they communicate using email so as not to interrupt the flowing environment.

26) On Moving the Company Office

Karp has been offered many times to move the company to tech industry neighborhoods such as Silicon Valley.

However, Karp does not want to move to the West Coast, where he says that all companies are worried about is whether a larger company such as Google or Apple will lure one of their best employees.

Karp is happy with his settlement in New York, where it is more about creativity and flourishing, rather than competition and success.

27) David Karp Work Ethics

Tumblr’s employees create the company foremost for themselves, and this is what adds to the unique flavor of the company.

They want the best for themselves, and believe customers deserve the best as well, and are not afraid of sharing their best ideas with the rest of the world.

Karp says the strong personal relations employees have with the company is what makes the website so successful and work as a complete product.

David Karp Personal Life

28) Relationship

David Karp is currently unmarried but not single.

He is in a relationship with Rachel Eakley.

Rachel herself is a trained chef.

She graduates with a degree in Psychology.

The two currently live together in the West Village and own a pet dog Clark.

29) Home Life

The couple, David and Rachel, love to spend weekends exploring the neighborhood of West Village.

However nothing beats the fun of playing with their dog Clark, a French-English bulldog mix.

30) Restless Sleeper

David does not need an alarm clock to wake up even on weekends.

He is a person who does not like to sleep for long.

He terms himself as well as his girlfriend as “Restless Sleepers”.

31) Lifestyle

David Karp, even after the millions he makes, maintains a very modest and not-so-lavish lifestyle.

David Karp has a $1.6 million loft in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

It is spread over a 1,700 square foot area.

However, David still likes to keep his home free from overly expensive furniture and things.

The loft has a bedroom which is nearly empty.

It has a wardrobe with clothes that only fills half of its space.

The living room also has a TV set and just a sofa.

Hence, David Karp is a minimalist and likes to keep only those things that are required.

32) David Karp Living in NY

Karp says that he prefers living in New York City, stating that it is the “heart of the creative world.”

Many of the media companies that are working in collaboration with Tumblr have their headquarters located there and it is easier meeting with executives in the same city.

Personal Interests of David Karp

33) Favorite Restaurant for Brunch

Wonder what is David’s favorite place  for brunch? It is Café Mogador located in the East Village.

His favorite items on the menu include orange juice, Moroccan mint tea, eggs Florentine, bacon and avocado salad.

34) Favorite Shows

David and Rachel love watching TV.

Due to their busy schedule, they watch their favorite shows on weekends.

Hence, during the weekend they have a list of their favorite shows to be watched.

These shows include 30 Rock, Daily Show, Colbert and The Office.

35) Loves Getting Rid of Things

One of David’s closest friends Marco Arment comments that his friend loves to get rid of things and does not feel like owning many items.

He is quoted as saying: “He owns, like, three items.

He’s always looking for ways he can get rid of something.”

36) Fan of Newsweek

Karp is a personal fan of the Newsweek blog.

He admires their work and appreciates that Newsweek was one of the first of its kind to create a blog on Tumblr.

Karp has become so used to the news and information fed through the Newsweek blog, that he buys the magazine whenever he needs a good read.

He says this is how companies can increase their customers and business.

37) Quirky Habits

Karp is a rather interesting 26 year old.

He has accomplished much for someone his age, and has become quite successful with his product.

Yet, he still has a few quirky habits, such as his favorite pen, camera and an addiction to tea.

He also only replies to emails from coworkers or his girlfriend.

38) Knows Japanese

David Karp never stops learning.

He has also taken Japanese classes at Japan Society to learn and master the Japanese language.

At home he with the assistance of his maths tutor is able to write a software for winning the game of chance poker.

39) Love for Ads

Karp has a love for advertising.

Since childhood, he has been a fan of ads and commercials.

His father has a studio which creates commercial jingles for businesses.

David Karp Personality

40) Routine

An interesting routine Karp likes to follow in the morning is ignoring his email until he gets to work.

He says that he believes checking his email from home is not a good idea and he does not feel very productive by checking them any earlier.

He adds that if something urgent comes up, the concerned people will contact him via phone or text.

41) Travels Lightly

Karp travels as lightly as possible, saying that this adds to his freedom.

He is not held down by any baggage, quite literally.

He likes to be able to move anywhere, anytime.

He prefers to make plans only a few days before implementing them.

42) Online Identity

Karp believes that it is important for everyone to have an online identity.

He notices that the new generation is understanding that one of the main ways to gain recognition is via online resources.

Currently, not much information is available about the average person online.

For those who want to, they can through personal blogs and websites, have more information about themselves available online.

43) Gives Back to the Community

For the CEO of Tumblr, the blogging website is not a means to advance in the technological world of business.

Rather, Karp wants some way to give back to a community that was in need of a more suitable multimedia friendly blogging website.

He says that he feels no real competition from others and is excited about advancements in technology so that he can incorporate them into Tumblr.

44) Inspired by YouTube

Karp is inspired by other internet wonders such as YouTube.

He finds the idea of someone being able to post whatever they want online without any expectations and the video can go viral, with that person ultimately gaining popularity and an ‘identity’ online.

45) Minimalist

Karp is known as a minimalist, and this is not only limited to his own personal lifestyle.

He also extends his minimalist views to his website, Tumblr.

The Tumblr interface is easy to use, with only one navigation bar.

Karp says the clean, focused characteristic of Tumblr is something the company dearly values.

46) Similarity to Other Celebs

Do you know what is common between Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and David Karp? All three of them are immensely successful today but they never got to finish their education and dropped out of school or university.

Other famous and successful people who drop out of high school like David are the billionaire businessman Jim Clark, actor Kevin Bacon, Albert Einstein, Walt Disney and Elton John among many others.

Views and Opinions: David Karp

47) Views about Sites

David Karp has some interesting views about the other mega websites.

He is a fan of Twitter and enjoys its clear interface.

He is indifferent to Google + and is not very impressed with Facebook.

His inspiration did stem from YouTube, but David Karp says he is disappointed with the way YouTube is advancing.

He says that the creative work displayed on YouTube is distracting, with ads that appear all over the screen.

48) Silicon Valley and David Karp

Karp’s feelings towards Silicon Valley are proving to be mutual.

Many companies from the Silicon Valley did not want to invest in Tumblr, due to the lack of revenue the company has been producing over recent years.

49) Dealing with Issues

As Tumblr evolves, Karp has to deal with many issues.

When a database crashed after a recent settlement with a major investor, Tumblr executives were on edge.

It took two of the company’s main employees and 40 hours of grueling hard work to get the blogs back up and running.

However, the employees push forward and are able to rise above the obstacle.

50) David Karp On Innovation

Karp believes that the main focus of Tumblr right has now been to continually create new applications and tools that work along with the changing trends of technological advances.

Keeping the company up to date and encouraging innovation is important to the ongoing success of Tumblr.