We're beginning to wonder if David Karp and the others behind Tumblr, the increasingly cool tumblelog service, have forgotten the meaning of the word 'sleep,' as some recent updates have brought even more coolness to the table. First up is a dramatically improved bookmarklet that gives users a lot more control over what they're posting and how. To its credit, the previous bookmarklet was pretty smart about knowing whether you want to share things like a quote, a picture or a video, but it didn't give you a say in the matter. Now, the new tabbed version (officially version 3) puts the choice back into your hands, just in case you have something different in mind than what Tumblr's clever javascript choses.

Next on the big-hitters list is Tumblr.com/Radar (in alpha, cuz beta is so yesterdy), a page that lets you watch the new posts appearing across all Tumblr blogs. This is a great idea, though we figure this should simply be the main page for Tumblr.com to help introduce those who are new to the concept of a tumbelog and to help potential users get the ball rolling (Exhibit A: the del.icio.us main page).

Other notable changes include a clean new theme added to the growing list, dynamic quote sizes for quote posts, new 'links with descriptions' and 'YouTube Videos' options for feed importing and something that should put a smile on the face of developers and blog hackers everywhere: an official Tumblr API.

Nice work yet again for the service that makes stream-of-conscious blogging perhaps easier than it should ever be.

We just felt a great tremor in the web - as if millions of mobloggers cried out in unified celebration. Tumblr, the new tumblelog service that we're already big fans of, just introduced a mobile uploads feature which allows anyone with an email-capable phone to get their tumbling on. Sending a message with a photo to a private email address that you obtain in your settings will publish it to your tumblelog, and the subject line will be used as a caption.

Tumblr is a new tumblelog service whose FAQs probably describe itself a nutshell the best: "To make a simple analogy: If blogs are journals, tumblelogs are scrapbooks." It has the look, feel and functionality of a stream-of-consciousness blog, instead of the typical structure and theme/agenda that the traditional blogging platform has (sidenote: can we really refer to an aspect of blogging as 'traditional' just yet?). Everything that doesn't fit in another online space or blogging platform is probably a sure-fire candidate for a tumblelog. I also like to think of it as a linkblog on steriods, offering easy linkage and embedding of video, pictures, conversations, quotes and more.

A carefully-chosen tool set reinforces this linkblog ideal, offering a streamlined experience that oozes the "everything you need, nothing you don't" philosophy. The signup process is dead-easy, and after choosing a theme and a few other settings, Tumblr offers a simple though eerily intelligent bookmarklet that does all the heavy lifting when sharing that Flickr pic or embedding a YouTube video.

For those who want some control over their tumblelog, Tumblr offers some key features above and beyond the simple point and click. Customization is present in just about all the right places. The themes are 100% editable, and the official Tumblr blog says even more themes are on their way, with a "hugely robust system" for really strutting your stuff. You can also chose to redirect your Tumblr blog to your own domain, with fairly simple instructions in the FAQs.

All in all this tumbellog/linkblog is a fairly simple concept with much greater implications, and Tumblr's executing is fantastic. I'm already hooked, and I've added a new bookmark and 'marklet to my tool belt. The service is free and, like so many other web 2.0 startups, will remain free, with the possibility of a more feature-packed premium offering debuting at a later date.

[via Leo Laporte's Twitter]