3 ways Vogue could improve its Tumblr blog

Vogue magazine, usually fashion forward, is a bit late to the media Tumblr blogging trend that reached fever pitch earlier this summer. Vogue's Tumblr blog, which appears to be an experimental, manicured toe dip into the crowded microblogging waters, is one day old and has, at post time, ten items. Most of the Vogue Tumblr blog's content, unfortunately, comes straight from the pages of the magazine, which was a mistake many publishers already made in their first forays online in the 1990s.

Tumblr, which  is rich with photo and video content because of its simple yet refined design interface, is -- theoretically, at least -- the perfect entry point for a Vogue blog. Luxury fashion magazines, particularly those with an iconic photo library like Vogue, are a natural fit for the microblog. Here are three ways that Vogue could build on their one day old Tumblr experiment:

Post behind-the-scenes cover shoot video

Vogue's greatest advantage is its reputation. The Vogue brand is ensorcelled in soft power and high glamour. And Vogue is arguably the world's most influential fashion maagzine. There is no more important piece of real estate in the fashion industry than the cover of Vogue magazine. It is like sitting at the cool kids table at lunch, only cooler.

Right now, behind-the-scenes cover shoot video is hosted by Vogue.com, but it would probably be better served (or at the very least, better re-posted) on Vogue's Tumblr page. Tumblr, where images speak for themselves, would a perfect forum for taking readers behind the scenes, in video and in photos, of that glamourous process.

Delve deep into the photo library

Vogue's second greatest advantage -- after the sterling reputation of their brand -- are their lush photos which transport readers into aristocratic spaces. Founded in 1892, the magazine has a storied career from its weekly beginnings through the world wars, past the formidable Diana Vreeland era into the days of Grace Mirabella and now, monthly, in the middle of the age of Anna Wintour.

Tumblr, at its best, increases the level of conversation and reader engagement. Something tells me that the average Vogue reader, if given the opportunity, would have much to comment upon and reblog regarding, say, the latest haute couture gown.

Tumblr is also tailor-made to spread content virally. According to Quantcast, Tumblr's dense reblogging ecosystem had over 1.7 billion page views in August. Imagine the conversation (and the web traffic) that might have ensued, to Conde Nast's advantage, had Vogue been Tumblring when that controversial Gisele-LeBron cover was published.

In the old days, magazines leaked provocative advance photos to the gossip pages -- and, more recently, to the celebrity blogs -- to drum up buzz for their magazines just before they hit the newsstands. Why not just now post them on Tumblr, along with Vogue's other iconic images of the 20th century?

Social media applications for fashion coverage

Tumblr could be a particularly effective social media platform for Vogue in microblogging the various fashion weeks -- London, Milan, New York, Paris -- that are held twice a year. Pictures and video -- what Tumblr does best -- are precisely the content that fashionistas want most when it comes to the runway shows (and, of course, the glam afterparties where Vogue staff reign supreme). Further, Tumblr is hip. So why not post video clips and photos from the world's fashion events and the events surrounding them on Tumblr, which seems an organic fit for such content?

There are so many more interesting and creative ways in which Vogue, the gatekeeper of high fashion, could use Tumblr to promote their content rather than to republish quotes and pictures from stories on Anna Hathaway and Senator Kirsten Gilibrand. That's so Web 1.0.