Well, that sums that up
I don't post in my journal, I know. In fact, I've barely kept up with my lj reading since switching jobs in December. This makes me a bad little fox and I apologize.
I had actually concluded that I'm the most boring person ever and I should just give up on having friends. I figured that I was so milquetoast that there was no point. So the posts trailed off. Then mindslide opened up the livejournal experience for me like a can of tuna. BAM. (Read past the car stereo shit. But the pictures don't do it justice. That stereo is off the hook.)
This is not a new idea and nothing she said was a surprise to me. But based on the reputation of the author (she's easily characterized as a blogging vet) and the way in which she worded her argument, it just put a railroad spike through the entire concept for me. The lj community is not attracted to normal people or happy people. Our society will give you plenty of pulp CHEER at the click of a button. The lj community, on the other hand, is where people come with their unhappiness. You could extend that to a lot of the internet's offerings, too.
Back to the beginning, I haven't posted on my journal much. There's like a page there over how many years. Noone would comment on an article because there was no gloom. Not only was I failing to provide juicy topic material but I've got an annoying habit of being so thorough in my treatment that I forget to leave anything to *talk* about--that's another topic. Now I see that this is how that type of content is expected to be handled.
I don't really do drama. I may be made out of anti-drama particles, I don't know. I mean, I could TELL you about drama in the last couple years and it would sound a little fictional. And I know drama when I see it. But every time I read through my Friends page, I get sapped by how much free-floating drama there already is. Some people are magnets for this stuff! How do you compete with that?
But now that I know what type of experience people come to lj to find, I think I can relate with the whole concept a lot more. Something about it resonates with me a lot more thanks to that article. This is what people have a need for.
So what do you think? What's the point of LJ and why do humans (americans, westerners, society, whatever) gravitate towards it?
I had actually concluded that I'm the most boring person ever and I should just give up on having friends. I figured that I was so milquetoast that there was no point. So the posts trailed off. Then mindslide opened up the livejournal experience for me like a can of tuna. BAM. (Read past the car stereo shit. But the pictures don't do it justice. That stereo is off the hook.)
This is not a new idea and nothing she said was a surprise to me. But based on the reputation of the author (she's easily characterized as a blogging vet) and the way in which she worded her argument, it just put a railroad spike through the entire concept for me. The lj community is not attracted to normal people or happy people. Our society will give you plenty of pulp CHEER at the click of a button. The lj community, on the other hand, is where people come with their unhappiness. You could extend that to a lot of the internet's offerings, too.
Back to the beginning, I haven't posted on my journal much. There's like a page there over how many years. Noone would comment on an article because there was no gloom. Not only was I failing to provide juicy topic material but I've got an annoying habit of being so thorough in my treatment that I forget to leave anything to *talk* about--that's another topic. Now I see that this is how that type of content is expected to be handled.
I don't really do drama. I may be made out of anti-drama particles, I don't know. I mean, I could TELL you about drama in the last couple years and it would sound a little fictional. And I know drama when I see it. But every time I read through my Friends page, I get sapped by how much free-floating drama there already is. Some people are magnets for this stuff! How do you compete with that?
But now that I know what type of experience people come to lj to find, I think I can relate with the whole concept a lot more. Something about it resonates with me a lot more thanks to that article. This is what people have a need for.
So what do you think? What's the point of LJ and why do humans (americans, westerners, society, whatever) gravitate towards it?