Closing up shop
For the last couple of years, I've found myself drifting away from LiveJournal. More and more, it's just not what I'm looking for in a blogging platform or social network. I post extremely infrequently now, rarely read my friends' blog posts, and don't do the upkeep that I should.
I don't think this is LiveJournal's fault. It's still a great platform. It's just not the right platform for me.
This is largely because of changes in my own life. I have far less time for blogging, and what little of it I do have I use on my own website (quick plug: find it here). Between work, parenting, and writing, I just don't have the time or, honestly, the inclination to maintain a social network that by its nature needs a lot of my focus to be useful. I didn't want LJ to become little more than a feed for my website, but that's what it's become.
So it's time I admit this to myself. I've been a paying member for years, and I've been proud to support LJ both monetarily and by praising it. It's still praiseworthy. But since it doesn't fit my needs anymore, it's time to take down my shingle, close up shop, and call it a day.
In real-world terms, this means the following:
I don't think this is LiveJournal's fault. It's still a great platform. It's just not the right platform for me.
This is largely because of changes in my own life. I have far less time for blogging, and what little of it I do have I use on my own website (quick plug: find it here). Between work, parenting, and writing, I just don't have the time or, honestly, the inclination to maintain a social network that by its nature needs a lot of my focus to be useful. I didn't want LJ to become little more than a feed for my website, but that's what it's become.
So it's time I admit this to myself. I've been a paying member for years, and I've been proud to support LJ both monetarily and by praising it. It's still praiseworthy. But since it doesn't fit my needs anymore, it's time to take down my shingle, close up shop, and call it a day.
In real-world terms, this means the following:
- I've migrated my old posts to my website, along with every conversation.
- I'm not going to post to or otherwise maintain this journal anymore.
- For social networking needs, I can be found on Google+. It has features that I find highly useful as a writer, such as the ability to do group webcam chats on the fly. The ability to have impromptu writing dates with writers all over the world is, without a doubt, a killer feature.
- For traditional blogging, I can (sometimes) be found on my website. I'm not going to lie... Updates there are infrequent, too. But at least they happen.