(Untitled)

[news]

When LiveJournal, Inc., was launched in December the new team made it very clear that LiveJournal was going to change. We also said that we would respect the values and legacy of LiveJournal. But, we can’t ignore the fact that as LiveJournal nears its second decade it needs to make some business decisions

Comments

[elements]

You already had my engagement. I've tried to give you understanding. We've shared our ideas, with little sense of having them listened to. But honestly? I'm one of your customers. I don't owe you anything.

On the other hand, you do owe us at the very minimum exactly what you're asking of us - engagement and understanding.

I deeply admire danah boyd, Esther Dyson, and Larry Lessig. With those three plus Brad Fitzpatrick on the new LJI advisory board, I was ready to extend to Livejournal in its new iteration under SUP's leadership another chance to prove to us that the changes in store would be ones I could live with.

This recent screw-up hasn't lost you 100% of my willingness to give LJ the benefit of the doubt, but it's shaken my faith in LJ management's sincerity in making good use of its excellent advisory board, and it's shown once again just how hopelessly out of touch with its user base the LJ management is.

Seriously, we *want* to give you a chance - at least those of us who've bothered to stick around this long, after nearly a year of a string of major screw-ups. We wouldn't still be here at all if we weren't willing to give you a chance.

Meet us halfway. Take a step back, and consider the possibility that despite everything you know about the web, in terms of Livejournal, you're brand new. Listen to us. Listen, for heaven's sake, to your advisors, especially to danah and Brad who are people who care deeply about and have very solid understandings of this community.

Livejournal is unique. It's not something that having worked at Blogger, or being a new media expert, or being an internet entrepreneur, etc., can give you the right kind of experience in. The only way to learn how not to piss off the LJ userbase - and we are the geese who lay the golden eggs, here - is to actually listen to us, and to listen with an open mind and the understanding that despite our being "just" customers, WE are the people with the real authority to speak about what works and what doesn't here. You may have the authority to make the final decisions, but we have the most core decision of all - whether to stay here or not, and whether to pay if we do stay.

My benefit of the doubt and my faith that there is still hope to salvage Livejournal are still there, but they're hanging by a thread. Please don't cut that thread. If you want to invest in the culture of Livejournal, then by god invest in it. You can start by listening with an open mind, asking questions when you don't understand, and letting your users - including your board, employees, and most dedicated volunteers - guide you.

[arrivee]

thank you.

[lelola]

If you want to invest in the culture of Livejournal, then by god invest in it. You can start by listening with an open mind, asking questions when you don't understand, and letting your users - including your board, employees, and most dedicated volunteers - guide you.
Hear, hear.

[leiandra]

Amen!

run for the advisory board will ya?

[isara]

Not that I'm certain that the advisory board is going to be listened to, but that was really well-said, and it would be great if they HEARD it.

Re: run for the advisory board will ya?

[elements]

Thanks. I just might consider it.

Re: run for the advisory board will ya?

[spare_change]

*votes for you*

Re: run for the advisory board will ya?

[imaginarycircus]

also would vote for you!

Re: run for the advisory board will ya?

[bookshop]

Thank goodness you saved me the trouble of begging.

[jinx]

amen! you said everything i wanted to say, except way better.