content-adaptation-playbook.md

# Content Adaptation Playbook — Tumblr

Use this when the user already has source material.

## Cross-post from a long article

Goal: keep the thesis, lose the CMS stiffness.

Rules:

- remove duplicated H1 from the body
- cut generic intros aggressively
- preserve only the strongest examples
- shorten transitions
- split dense blocks into smaller sections

## Adapt for a photo post

Use this when the source material contains one central image, screenshot, visual artifact, or poster.

Rules:

- caption should explain the image’s meaning, not restate what is visible
- keep the caption compact
- if the supporting prose grows into a mini-essay, switch back to a text post

## Revive an old Tumblr post

- rewrite the first paragraph first
- keep the strongest original line if it still works
- update the example, reference, or image
- retag based on the actual current angle

## Translate / localize

- preserve the point of view
- localize the rhythm, not just the vocabulary
- re-check whether the translated version should be text or photo led

## Code-heavy source material

Tumblr can carry code, but not every post should become a code dump.

- keep only the decisive snippet
- summarize the rest
- use prose to explain why the code matters

## Final adaptation checklist

- does this sound like a person, not a CMS export?
- is the opening materially better than the source opening?
- would this work in a dashboard preview?
- should this actually be a photo post instead?