"i'm only crying because i haven't had chipotle in two months. ... alright, that's only part of it."
And I did really shed some tears today, but not over this entry!
It makes me a bit sad to see people leaving LiveJournal, at least some parts of it are still active. I thought these days were over, but apparently people have just been moving. I've started using Tumblr, but it just seems so impersonal, and unoriginal. By unoriginal, I mean having so many members reblogging the same pretty pictures, quotes, and internet memes. It gets boring, and I think the tumblarity 'ranking' feature makes it worse. It's really great for use as a dumping ground for random entries and found photos, but I miss actual details and streams of thought. Most of my friends who encouraged me to start one keep their text entries short and sweet - but I think that's the appeal of Tumblr, it encourages brevity. Personally, I'd try to only share things I've done lately or places I've been I thought were interesting, but nothing much has been happening lately so I'm not active at all. There is no way to censor yourself or filter your entries, so everything is open to public viewing and scrutiny. One thing I liked about LJ was being able to keep my list of readers small, and filter things I didn't want to leave public. When it comes to public blogging tools, even if you try to keep your identity private from your peers, there is no guarantee. Knowing that your words are out there must play a role in what you want to say and share - you aren't truly writing for yourself, especially if you are just trying to raise a 'score'.
Edit: Also, I don't know why, but Tumblr doesn't originally allow or support a comments feature in it's user interface. People have to seek outside tools to add that feature, which is interesting. I think that was intentional for the purpose of being like placeholder for found items, quotes, and short diary entries - versus encouraging comments and conversations.
I'm purposely leaving this entry public because there are many entries that I have left friends-only in the past. I would say not-so-nice things about certain individuals my friends would laugh about on here, briefly mention school and relationship worries I would otherwise keep inside, etc. But it's a cathartic experience to have an audience like that, who can sometimes even relate, and it was also fun to document my days - especially when something new and exciting was happening, though that would also happen when bad things happened. LJ was so good for days of rage, where you could just bitch all you wanted. When I couldn't immediately speak to one of my girl friends, I'd leave a little something on my journal as a reminder to bring it up later, or throw it out there for initial reactions - long before the days of Facebook or Twitter. Sometimes I, and at least two other friends I went to high school with, would opt to casually mention something on our journals instead of bring it up directly (say, for example, about a guy we'd met), not wanting to make a big deal out of anything small, but if it was blog-worthy... I guess it was some kind of a deal after all, wasn't it?
Tumblr, Facebook, MySpace or Twitter may be fun, but anyone can decide for themselves it's meaningful or has any real substance. I'll especially remember LJ for allowing me to see sides of my friends I would have probably never seen otherwise, or had never known to ask about. It's interesting to look back on these things and observe how much your thoughts have changed and how you've grown as a person. I'm also glad for the opportunity to look at other peoples lives. It is interesting here and less mind-numbing than reality television!
My one LJ pet-peeve -- I did not like when they decided to implement advertisements into the layouts of non-paying users.
Some reasons why I still love LiveJournal:
whatiworetoday2 - Outfits, advice, criticism.
off_wut - Not gonna lie, I check this community almost daily.
newestwrinkle
blackcigarette - Gone downhill in my opinion, but I've saved my favorite posts here.
people_watching
quiet_thrills - Old favorite.
theysaid
vaginapagina - Ladies, this is a must. Seriously, don't be shy.
saucydwellings
literarytattoos - ♥
bakebakebake - Self-explanatory.
ohnotheydidnt - Celebrity gossip. I don't read it, there is just too much.
ontd_football - In honor of my friend Nicole.
album_love - Fulfill all your album-seeking needs here while you can.
indie_exchange - For you indie music lovers, but please support your favorite artists.