An old, old topic: Why/How do you LJ? revisited
Recently I was reminded of an old post of mine, which was a response to ginger001's thoughtful post about how she uses her LJ. I thought it might be interesting to address this again, especially since the landscape of my friends list has changed so much since then.
The basic question: why/how do you LJ?
Why: Why did you open a livejournal? Why do you stay?
What for: Do you use your LJ for any specific reason, such as for fandom only, for life only - or do you use it for a variety of reasons?
How: Do you use it to flail and express glee, or to vent, to write analysis/meta on your interests, to inform/share info, etc., or for a variety of reasons?
And further, what role does your friends list (or any larger audience you may have for public posts) play in what and how you post? Do you tailor your posts to your readers, or to a particular fandom or topic(s) that you share with perhaps a majority of your friends list? Do you adopt a certain manner of expression when posting to your LJ? How important is your audience as a consideration in what/how you post?
And also, do you have separate LJs for different things? For example, a "personal life" LJ, a fandom LJ, a fanwork LJ, etc.?
I'm sure there are other good questions to ask and other aspects of journaling to consider, but this is all I can think of right now. If you feel like sharing, feel free to express yourself as much (or as little) as you want. ;) As I keep reminding people, one never needs to apologize for lengthy comments around here.
I opened my LJ for fannish reasons - to participate in Battlestar Galactica fandom. However, as anyone who has been around me for a while knows, I post about whatever I feel like, which involves everything: life, fandom, whatever. I can't imagine restricting this LJ to "fandom only" or "life only," or any other particular thing, because my LJ has never had a particular focus other than to express and represent me in a written form. Because I know that lots of people use their LJs primarily for fannish reasons, I do warn new people that this LJ is an utter hodgepodge of random, and it's a "take it or leave it" situation. :) I know that my style is definitely not for everyone, and that's fine! That's why every day is removal amnesty day around here - I certainly don't expect anyone to stick around if my LJ is not to their taste, and I'm definitely not offended when/if people remove me. :)
Regarding the further question of the role of an audience in one's LJ habits, well, I'm not immune to this, and this is where my response is generally to censor myself. Once upon a time I had a very small friends list and I knew everyone pretty well - and now that seems like a really long time ago! I'd like to think that I know some of you really well, but not everyone, sadly. The intimacy we have with the people around us can definitely influence what we write about and how we express ourselves. I notice that there are things that I don't post about, which is usually directly related to who is reading. In terms of social interaction, I've always wanted my LJ to be a welcoming environment, so I don't like to get involved in drama/conflict/controversy, etc.
However, occasionally I do post some things because I know there may be interest in it: for example, some of the picspams are because I know that there are some who will enjoy them, or I'll post news articles for a friend. I usually primarily post because of my own interest, but it's impossible for me to not consider the interests of others regarding specific topics (like Kamenashi Kazuya...).
As to my manner of expression: well, on the days I feel like flailing, I flail. On the days I feel like being analytical, I do so. On the days I feel like sharing things without comment, I do that, too. I definitely don't (can't!) change my own expression based on how my friends list behaves, which I consider impossible because my voice is my own, and so I can't not do my own thing, but also because my wonderful, wonderful friends list is so incredibly diverse and comprised of all different ages, nationalities, ethnicities, educational backgrounds, and interests, just to name a handful of characteristics, so how could I possible change myself to match any of those things?
Everyone has their own ideas and feelings about journaling, so obviously, the way I do things is my own. It's no better or worse than anyone else's. I really value having such a diverse crowd around me - I'm always exposed to new things: new ideas, new fandoms, new issues, whatever, and I have the chance to connect with people on old interests as well as new ones.
I really love LJ for these things: for self-expression, and for the social interaction. Which is why I'm still here. :)