How many people on your friends list are actually in town?
My first reaction is, "Tough -- it's your journal, where you write, and you've every right to do so." But I think I can see some of his reasoning. Still, I think that this writing is probably good for you, and I'm not sure where the harm is.
I daresay you could filter your posts for in-town and out-of-town readers, if you wanted, and save the more revealing about the business posts for the out-of-town readers. That would be something of a compromise.
It's funny, I used to do that filtering kind of thing. But it got too tiresome. Now I reserve filters for the important stuff like throwing surprise parties for people that are on my friends list. :)
I see his point, and I see mine, too. That's why I don't know what to do. I guess I'll just let it percolate for now.
While you and I might disagree about how LJ has or has not changed I want you to know that I never meant or intended to make you feel bad about using it. I also don't have a strong opinion about what you do with your journal. My opinions are just that, opinions. I don't know some magic truth or anything. Do what makes you happy, k?
We have changed due to the years of biz ownership. LJ has changed, in some circles, due to the influence of Myspace- they are both much more about the 'friend group bulletin board'.
But he says that LiveJournal and our lives and the town and the shop are too intertwined to be frank anymore on the Internet. That no delineation really separates what I say from the business; they are now one and the same. This idea also makes me nauseous. It means that for my $300 a month, I get to forfeit my identity.The whole idea is definitely something to consider, especially when you run a fairly well know (by those associated with downtown) downtown business. Think about the fact that you've given your $.02 a couple times within the past two months, and two of those posts had a high volume of comments -- granted, they're from the same few people, mostly, but there's still a lot of conversation there
( ... )
I don't generally write things that are secret in here. Personal, private, maybe, but not so much secret.
About the things like wifi, sometimes those conversations (in journal) are useful to me because it's a convenient way to gauge the opinions of my customers and employees.
By the way, did you know that the Library is now offering free wifi?? What do you think about that?
I could absolutely become a barista and make more money - but I think that most shop owners could. And yeah - why should I forfeit anything for the business? But where my heart weighs in on that topic depends on where sales are, what kind of setbacks I'm experiencing in management, how much the business interferes in my personal life. In other words, sometimes I really love my business, sometimes I kind of hate it. Do you ever feel like that about school?
I can't discount what Alexarc said. He makes a good point.
But for selfish reasons, I hope you don't heed them. This LJ is a window into you and your world that I'm fairly certain I never would see otherwise. Here is where I hear your voice loud and clear. I would miss my friend on the internet Teri, even though I would still have my friend in real life Teri, ya know?
Every time a friend on LJ threatens to stop using their journal, I feel so sad because it's like a friend saying, "for reasons you can't understand that have nothing to do with you, we can no longer be friends." It hurts.
That said, if Andrew deleted his journal tomorrow, I wouldn't really care, because that's not where I get to know Andrew intimately. But here is where I get to know many other people more intimately, and you are definitely one of then. I would just miss that a lot
( ... )
I think you hit it on the head, there. LiveJournal makes our relationships unique because there is a degree of intimacy that you wouldn't otherwise have access to. And that too, is what makes it sometimes feel more familial than acquaintance-y. Which is what I like about it.
I disagree with Alex unless there's some big drama that I was unaware of. These are all locked posts, and pretty tame besides.
This is a different industry, sure, but all the writing conventions I've attended are adamant that the best business move you can make in today's world is to keep an inoffensive blog. People want to give money to someone they know, and it's a cheap way to let people think they know you, even if it's a one-sided conversation.
I thought I was writing pretty tame things too but yeah, there was a big drama and I had to make that post go away in order to make it stop. Even though all my posts are locked.
I agree about the blogging and business thing, but it has to be two things to be successful:
1. It must be genuine (it can't be too inoffensive) 2. It must be continual (you have to keep at it)
Otherwise, your audience won't care. I guess that's one thing I can say about mine, even if they get mad, at least they care.
Although this journal I have mostly considered a personal entity, not a business one. I don't do it for the business, even though the business is part of my life.
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My first reaction is, "Tough -- it's your journal, where you write, and you've every right to do so." But I think I can see some of his reasoning. Still, I think that this writing is probably good for you, and I'm not sure where the harm is.
I daresay you could filter your posts for in-town and out-of-town readers, if you wanted, and save the more revealing about the business posts for the out-of-town readers. That would be something of a compromise.
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I see his point, and I see mine, too. That's why I don't know what to do. I guess I'll just let it percolate for now.
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But he says that LiveJournal and our lives and the town and the shop are too intertwined to be frank anymore on the Internet. That no delineation really separates what I say from the business; they are now one and the same. This idea also makes me nauseous. It means that for my $300 a month, I get to forfeit my identity.The whole idea is definitely something to consider, especially when you run a fairly well know (by those associated with downtown) downtown business. Think about the fact that you've given your $.02 a couple times within the past two months, and two of those posts had a high volume of comments -- granted, they're from the same few people, mostly, but there's still a lot of conversation there ( ... )
Reply
About the things like wifi, sometimes those conversations (in journal) are useful to me because it's a convenient way to gauge the opinions of my customers and employees.
By the way, did you know that the Library is now offering free wifi?? What do you think about that?
I could absolutely become a barista and make more money - but I think that most shop owners could. And yeah - why should I forfeit anything for the business? But where my heart weighs in on that topic depends on where sales are, what kind of setbacks I'm experiencing in management, how much the business interferes in my personal life. In other words, sometimes I really love my business, sometimes I kind of hate it. Do you ever feel like that about school?
Reply
But for selfish reasons, I hope you don't heed them. This LJ is a window into you and your world that I'm fairly certain I never would see otherwise. Here is where I hear your voice loud and clear. I would miss my friend on the internet Teri, even though I would still have my friend in real life Teri, ya know?
Every time a friend on LJ threatens to stop using their journal, I feel so sad because it's like a friend saying, "for reasons you can't understand that have nothing to do with you, we can no longer be friends." It hurts.
That said, if Andrew deleted his journal tomorrow, I wouldn't really care, because that's not where I get to know Andrew intimately. But here is where I get to know many other people more intimately, and you are definitely one of then. I would just miss that a lot ( ... )
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This is a different industry, sure, but all the writing conventions I've attended are adamant that the best business move you can make in today's world is to keep an inoffensive blog. People want to give money to someone they know, and it's a cheap way to let people think they know you, even if it's a one-sided conversation.
Reply
I agree about the blogging and business thing, but it has to be two things to be successful:
1. It must be genuine (it can't be too inoffensive)
2. It must be continual (you have to keep at it)
Otherwise, your audience won't care. I guess that's one thing I can say about mine, even if they get mad, at least they care.
Although this journal I have mostly considered a personal entity, not a business one. I don't do it for the business, even though the business is part of my life.
(sometimes i hate the business)
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