The White House joins Tumblr

The White House announced Friday it has added Tumblr to its list of social media tools. The first post is titled "The White House, Tumbling Things."

From the site:

We see some great things here at the White House every day, and sharing that stuff with you is one of the best parts of our jobs. That’s why we’re launching a Tumblr. We’ll post things like the best quotes from President Obama, or video of young scientists visiting the White House for the science fair, or photos of adorable moments with Bo. We’ve got some wonky charts, too. Because to us, those are actually kind of exciting.

The maiden post featured a sunburst diagram of potential content (pictured). It also included a call for submissions from the public.

The president previously used Tumblr as a tool for his 2012 campaign, but this is the first White House account.

The White House has been increasing its social media engagement in an effort to directly communicate with the American public (and sidestep the media).

The White House on Monday broke into the world of Vine, adding that social media tool to a long roster of programs run by White House staff including Facebook, Twitter and Flickr. And a new Twitter account was announced for second lady Jill Biden.