Something old is new again
So, I figured it was time for this lj to get a visual refresh. I've had the previous style for years, and, at its inception, it was the most advanced thing I could come up with using lj's limited number of themes and options. But now it seems like there are so many different bells and whistles and much more complex styles. I always thought of the live journal service as a kind of proto-blog, that is, it came into popularity about my freshman or sophomore year in high school, so about 6 or 7 years ago, and this was well before blog had any kind of presence. The fact that I had an lj before it was cool to have a blog makes me feel like an early adopter and proud of that, though I always poke holes at this sense of hope because an lj (at least, how we all used them back in the day) does not fill the same role as most of today's blogs, or at least what I can tell. For the most part, blogs have an intention in mind, the author or authors want to convey information to the reader that he can take away and improve himself with. For example, you have 43Folders, where Merlin Mann and his band of cohorts impart on the reader many tidbits of knowledge regarding productivity and Getting Things Done and other life hacks. Other blogs I've seen give helpful advice about zen living, or how to be creative, or how to do something. That is, the author simply isn't talking about how his day went and stuff like that, things that are very specific to the author and only important or relevant to readers who know the author personally... or want to stalk the author (I guess that's more the case with celebrity blogs).
But this isn't to say that lj-like blogs are pointless or anything like that. They just fill two different needs or wants of the author. An lj is just that -- a journal, first and foremost. It is designed, then, for the author to write whatever the heck he wants and those who read it will do so because they like hearing about the inner musing of the author, irrespective if there is some form of wisdom therein (though, particularly dedicated readers might try to dig out the wisdom from the simple chattiness). There are many reasons why one would keep a journal, and so there are many reasons why one would keep an lj, with the added element that people can read and comment on the author's lj, so it becomes a stage for him to perform at the same time it gives him the release from writing whatever crosses his mind.
I've personally never wanted to write a true-to-form lj, where I give a play-by-play of the day's events and say goodnight. I have been most moved to write a post to my lj when there's something of merit to say, something that probably has meaning to me, so it would probably have meaning to someone reading it. I don't think it would be some golden bit of truth, but perhaps some small revelation I had or something I found out. Though, I often do spend my posts complaining about my life (at least, that was more the case in high school) or some silly post my feelings (I remember one post where I simply stated my desire to have a good thunderstorm).
You know, in actuality, I probably don't know what I want to use this lj for. My dreams are to post regularly and find some topic to write about, probably relating to something that happened to me or something I've been thinking about. That has worked at some points, particularly since I started updated again in college. I don't like recounting what I did that day; I wouldn't count yesterday's post as a recount, as the focus was on my mental state and what I had done that day was simply used as examples or evidence to my argument about stress and the like. But I will undoubtedly be guilty of posting less enlightening posts, for the sake of my psyche, many times in the future. I only hope I can intertwine some commentary at least on the inanity in order to give the reader something to walk away (or surf away) with.
Again, I don't look down on anyone who wants a simpler lj, where he's not aiming to be wise or enlighten his readers. I just seem to have a very prolific image of a journal or blog (but this is a "journal," not a "blog"), and I would like to strive for that kind of content. Whether I will succeed or not, God only knows. But I know I can take comfort in the fact that there are people who do enjoy what I write, so whatever kind of content I do end up producing I know it will have some kind of merit. I seem to keep forgetting that readers can have very different needs and wants when coming to a lj or blog or whatever, and, as lj's have that journal atmosphere, perhaps many more people than I realize read lj's just to read some good writing. Perhaps like reading a short story, or some other piece. I know I often look at this lj (when not as a tool to enlighten) as a means to practice writing, so my needs and what hopefully a lot of readers needs are just might complement each other well enough to keep this whole operation afloat (after all, an online journal quickly loses its flair when no one's reading it).
(I hope it's pretty clear that my quest for the ability to spout off wisdom on command is tongue-in-cheek; that I would hope to achieve that status -- and I have been talking as it's a reachable quest -- is pretty arrogant of me. I think what I really want to try to do is to take a critical eye to whatever is going on in my life, and whatever Big Think that is on my mind, and see where my thought process is going. Then, maybe if I recount it here, and it's often the case that when I write about it here I think about it again and find some new conclusion, someone else will learn from my experiences, or at least note what I have done and find it interesting. I hope I am not so arrogant that I assume what I say has merit and everyone will find it to be remarkable. All I can hope to do is say what I am thinking, and perhaps someone will deem it a worthwhile thing to say.)
(You would think that LiveJournal -- lj itself -- would treat "lj" and "blog" as correctly spelled words. But no! There is no such thing as a "blog" -- it is all a lie the Man has been feeding you! Perhaps that is lj's plan; they convince you that blogs don't exist, and that the kind of journal entries is the only way to go. Or, maybe they're just using an outdated spell checker. But at least it doesn't flag every contraction as an error....)
But this isn't to say that lj-like blogs are pointless or anything like that. They just fill two different needs or wants of the author. An lj is just that -- a journal, first and foremost. It is designed, then, for the author to write whatever the heck he wants and those who read it will do so because they like hearing about the inner musing of the author, irrespective if there is some form of wisdom therein (though, particularly dedicated readers might try to dig out the wisdom from the simple chattiness). There are many reasons why one would keep a journal, and so there are many reasons why one would keep an lj, with the added element that people can read and comment on the author's lj, so it becomes a stage for him to perform at the same time it gives him the release from writing whatever crosses his mind.
I've personally never wanted to write a true-to-form lj, where I give a play-by-play of the day's events and say goodnight. I have been most moved to write a post to my lj when there's something of merit to say, something that probably has meaning to me, so it would probably have meaning to someone reading it. I don't think it would be some golden bit of truth, but perhaps some small revelation I had or something I found out. Though, I often do spend my posts complaining about my life (at least, that was more the case in high school) or some silly post my feelings (I remember one post where I simply stated my desire to have a good thunderstorm).
You know, in actuality, I probably don't know what I want to use this lj for. My dreams are to post regularly and find some topic to write about, probably relating to something that happened to me or something I've been thinking about. That has worked at some points, particularly since I started updated again in college. I don't like recounting what I did that day; I wouldn't count yesterday's post as a recount, as the focus was on my mental state and what I had done that day was simply used as examples or evidence to my argument about stress and the like. But I will undoubtedly be guilty of posting less enlightening posts, for the sake of my psyche, many times in the future. I only hope I can intertwine some commentary at least on the inanity in order to give the reader something to walk away (or surf away) with.
Again, I don't look down on anyone who wants a simpler lj, where he's not aiming to be wise or enlighten his readers. I just seem to have a very prolific image of a journal or blog (but this is a "journal," not a "blog"), and I would like to strive for that kind of content. Whether I will succeed or not, God only knows. But I know I can take comfort in the fact that there are people who do enjoy what I write, so whatever kind of content I do end up producing I know it will have some kind of merit. I seem to keep forgetting that readers can have very different needs and wants when coming to a lj or blog or whatever, and, as lj's have that journal atmosphere, perhaps many more people than I realize read lj's just to read some good writing. Perhaps like reading a short story, or some other piece. I know I often look at this lj (when not as a tool to enlighten) as a means to practice writing, so my needs and what hopefully a lot of readers needs are just might complement each other well enough to keep this whole operation afloat (after all, an online journal quickly loses its flair when no one's reading it).
(I hope it's pretty clear that my quest for the ability to spout off wisdom on command is tongue-in-cheek; that I would hope to achieve that status -- and I have been talking as it's a reachable quest -- is pretty arrogant of me. I think what I really want to try to do is to take a critical eye to whatever is going on in my life, and whatever Big Think that is on my mind, and see where my thought process is going. Then, maybe if I recount it here, and it's often the case that when I write about it here I think about it again and find some new conclusion, someone else will learn from my experiences, or at least note what I have done and find it interesting. I hope I am not so arrogant that I assume what I say has merit and everyone will find it to be remarkable. All I can hope to do is say what I am thinking, and perhaps someone will deem it a worthwhile thing to say.)
(You would think that LiveJournal -- lj itself -- would treat "lj" and "blog" as correctly spelled words. But no! There is no such thing as a "blog" -- it is all a lie the Man has been feeding you! Perhaps that is lj's plan; they convince you that blogs don't exist, and that the kind of journal entries is the only way to go. Or, maybe they're just using an outdated spell checker. But at least it doesn't flag every contraction as an error....)