Memoryfest III (!) - Son of Memoryfest? Memoryfest Strikes Back?
What is Memoryfest?
For the last two years, I've dedicated the month of January to Memoryfest, where I post a memory a day and invite everyone to add one of their own in the comments. We've gotten into some great conversations in which we discover cultural and individual similarities and differences, coincidences, etc., and follow tangents into the oddest topics. It's a lot of fun. This year we're starting a little late because I've been so busy, but the premise is the same: take advantage of the new year to wind down and reflect, and get to know all of you a little better-and I hope you'll get to know each other better, too. There are a lot of people here who weren't here last year, and I'd be so happy to see some mingling goin' on in the comments.
There aren't any official rules. The guidelines I've set for myself are to only post memories that I haven't told many people about, or written in a diary about, before. Not because they're intensely personal, but because I want to write about the small stuff-seemingly inconsequential little recollections that become stories in the telling and often reveal more about myself than expected. I also exclude events that happened within the last few years; they're more complex, and I'm more interested in the things I can remember all the way back through early childhood.
You can post a memory that's related to mine or one that has nothing to do with it. You can participate every day or whenever you feel like dropping in. You can comment without sharing a memory of your own. If your memory is very long or very personal, you're welcome to post it on your own journal and put a link in comments. I'd just ask as a courtesy to people who may be reading here who aren't on your f-list that if your post is locked, please say so along with the link.
Here are the indices to Memoryfest I (2006) and Memoryfest II (2007) if you want to see what we've gotten up to before (if you're new) or refresh your memory (if you're a veteran).
Changes planned for Memoryfest III
The jump in participation from the first year (when I didn't know many people on LJ, and there were four or five of us chatting regularly, mostly RL friends/acquaintances) to the second (23 people, most of whom I only knew online, and almost 600 comments in all) took me by surprise, and since it coincided with me finding out that I was being spied on at work and needing to curtail my online time during the day, I wasn't able to keep up with comment replies as well as I wanted to. I'm still being spied on at work, but I care a lot less, so that's not so much of an issue. But there are lots more people around, which is fabulous, even though it means another rise in volume.
I think the solution is just to be more lax about the posting: to skip a day now and then if we're having good conversations, to post each memory when I have some free time instead of always posting first thing in the morning before disappearing into work, and not to worry about entertaining everyone by turning simple memories into stories, which was a new pressure I felt last year with the expanded audience. I want to reply to everyone's memories, and rushing things defeats the 'fest's purpose anyway. (That said, if things do start to back up, I vow not to get anxious about it, and hope you won't be offended; I do read every comment in my LJ even if I don't write back.)
That, and I want to encourage everyone not only to stop by and share, but also to talk to each other. I love getting to know my friends better, and I'd love to see you chat amongst yourselves so we don't end up with the typical LJ-post "reader comment/poster reply, new thread reader comment/poster reply, new thread reader comment/poster reply" pattern-and so people don't have to play co-host, going down the page each day and replying to everybody. (Though I really appreciate that you helped out last year when I got the spying news, and you know who you are. ♥ )
I'm glad to be doing this again, especially with so many new "faces" around, of a range of ages and nationalities. I hope you're looking forward to it too.
For the last two years, I've dedicated the month of January to Memoryfest, where I post a memory a day and invite everyone to add one of their own in the comments. We've gotten into some great conversations in which we discover cultural and individual similarities and differences, coincidences, etc., and follow tangents into the oddest topics. It's a lot of fun. This year we're starting a little late because I've been so busy, but the premise is the same: take advantage of the new year to wind down and reflect, and get to know all of you a little better-and I hope you'll get to know each other better, too. There are a lot of people here who weren't here last year, and I'd be so happy to see some mingling goin' on in the comments.
There aren't any official rules. The guidelines I've set for myself are to only post memories that I haven't told many people about, or written in a diary about, before. Not because they're intensely personal, but because I want to write about the small stuff-seemingly inconsequential little recollections that become stories in the telling and often reveal more about myself than expected. I also exclude events that happened within the last few years; they're more complex, and I'm more interested in the things I can remember all the way back through early childhood.
You can post a memory that's related to mine or one that has nothing to do with it. You can participate every day or whenever you feel like dropping in. You can comment without sharing a memory of your own. If your memory is very long or very personal, you're welcome to post it on your own journal and put a link in comments. I'd just ask as a courtesy to people who may be reading here who aren't on your f-list that if your post is locked, please say so along with the link.
Here are the indices to Memoryfest I (2006) and Memoryfest II (2007) if you want to see what we've gotten up to before (if you're new) or refresh your memory (if you're a veteran).
Changes planned for Memoryfest III
The jump in participation from the first year (when I didn't know many people on LJ, and there were four or five of us chatting regularly, mostly RL friends/acquaintances) to the second (23 people, most of whom I only knew online, and almost 600 comments in all) took me by surprise, and since it coincided with me finding out that I was being spied on at work and needing to curtail my online time during the day, I wasn't able to keep up with comment replies as well as I wanted to. I'm still being spied on at work, but I care a lot less, so that's not so much of an issue. But there are lots more people around, which is fabulous, even though it means another rise in volume.
I think the solution is just to be more lax about the posting: to skip a day now and then if we're having good conversations, to post each memory when I have some free time instead of always posting first thing in the morning before disappearing into work, and not to worry about entertaining everyone by turning simple memories into stories, which was a new pressure I felt last year with the expanded audience. I want to reply to everyone's memories, and rushing things defeats the 'fest's purpose anyway. (That said, if things do start to back up, I vow not to get anxious about it, and hope you won't be offended; I do read every comment in my LJ even if I don't write back.)
That, and I want to encourage everyone not only to stop by and share, but also to talk to each other. I love getting to know my friends better, and I'd love to see you chat amongst yourselves so we don't end up with the typical LJ-post "reader comment/poster reply, new thread reader comment/poster reply, new thread reader comment/poster reply" pattern-and so people don't have to play co-host, going down the page each day and replying to everybody. (Though I really appreciate that you helped out last year when I got the spying news, and you know who you are. ♥ )
I'm glad to be doing this again, especially with so many new "faces" around, of a range of ages and nationalities. I hope you're looking forward to it too.