Beautiful People 2010: David Karp

David Karp, 23, invented Tumblr three years ago because he found blogging platforms impossible to love. Like so many of us who registered for blogs on Wordpress, Blogspot and Moveable Type during the midaughts, only to abandon them weeks later, Karp knew he wanted a space of his own on the Internet but couldn't find anything that felt right. "I couldn't keep one of these things up, and I really wanted one," Karp said recently, speaking from the apartment on the Upper East Side he shares with his girlfriend. "My barrier was that every time I went to post something, I got that big empty text box."

Tumblr distinguished itself by allowing users to easily share things they came across while surfing the Web, such as pictures, videos and songs. The site launched in 2007; Karp was only 20 at the time but already six years into his career as a software developer, which began when he was a high school freshman as an intern at a New York cartoon production company soon followed by a job at UrbanBaby. com. Karp fell in love with the work and, with his parents' blessing, dropped out of school so he could devote more time to it. Life went fast after that: Tumblr's first year catapulted Karp to celebrity status in the New York tech scene, and the young entrepreneur found himself dating a tech reporter for CNET and going out every night of the week to parties and drinks with other online media types. With that first flare of success behind him, Karp is now looking forward to spending less time running around, is moving to the West Village and figuring out a way for Tumblr to turn a profit.

David wears a jacket and vest by Black Fleece for Brooks Brothers and shirt and pants by Calvin Klein Collection. Makeup: Erin Lefkowitz, hair: Max Pinnell for Bumble and Bumble at See Management

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