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Jan. 8th, 2021 11:34 amI just posted this to my facebook. It explains a lot of my thoughts, and why I keep returning to dreamwidth now and again, even though I don't have a really big community here.
So I watched this really interesting YouTube video last night about how fandom communities migrate. I was actually looking for videos about the history of livejournal (honestly so buckwild that the Russian gov owns my teenage diary), but came across this instead.
In the video, a professor of online tech and culture studies talks about how it was necessary that tumblr and AO3 were on the rise at the same time, and that is what killed livejournal. LJ was for both archival purposes and social purposes, and tumblr became the new social platform while AO3 became the new archive.
And I think that stuff is fascinating! I think that really hits the nail on the head of why I can't get over livejournal and personal blogging going out of style. I want an online archive where I can post essays, and also a social platform that my friends are on, and I don't want to feel like I have to cultivate a brand. I already *own* a small online business. I want a better, more longform way of keeping in touch with people. And maybe sharing my fannish writings.
If I started a blog on like, wordpress or squarespace or something, that becomes A New Brand, which I don't want. I think especially this year, coming up on a year anniversary of quarantine, I want to connect with people in a more longform way than Facebook usually does. My Twitter is exclusively for Northern Lights Witch. Instagram doesn't have the same kind of feeling, because I miss so many posts from friends (and the new app update is awful.)
I just want a page, where I post blogs, and a follow page where my friends are also posting blogs, or I follow communities (like Get Your Words Out, or fandom communities, or support communities). I KNOW it sounds like I'm talking about Facebook, but facebook just isn't a good format for nuance or sharing longer posts.
Maybe what I need to do is a deep cleanse of the Facebook timeline? Or a new account that is just me and the people I care about the most?
Maybe this nostalgia for early online communities would go away if I could see people in person more often. But part of me is honestly scared that we'll have another pandemic when The Virus just mutates again. I want a way to connect with people that helps me get my thoughts out, share the experience of my life, and also encourages other people to do the same thing.
So I guess ... here I am, just starting it. Writing a longer post on my facebook. Thinking about deep loneliness, connecting through a screen, and preparing for another 6 months to a year of lockdown while we all get the vaccine.
And I think that stuff is fascinating! I think that really hits the nail on the head of why I can't get over livejournal and personal blogging going out of style. I want an online archive where I can post essays, and also a social platform that my friends are on, and I don't want to feel like I have to cultivate a brand. I already *own* a small online business. I want a better, more longform way of keeping in touch with people. And maybe sharing my fannish writings.
If I started a blog on like, wordpress or squarespace or something, that becomes A New Brand, which I don't want. I think especially this year, coming up on a year anniversary of quarantine, I want to connect with people in a more longform way than Facebook usually does. My Twitter is exclusively for Northern Lights Witch. Instagram doesn't have the same kind of feeling, because I miss so many posts from friends (and the new app update is awful.)
I just want a page, where I post blogs, and a follow page where my friends are also posting blogs, or I follow communities (like Get Your Words Out, or fandom communities, or support communities). I KNOW it sounds like I'm talking about Facebook, but facebook just isn't a good format for nuance or sharing longer posts.
Maybe what I need to do is a deep cleanse of the Facebook timeline? Or a new account that is just me and the people I care about the most?
Maybe this nostalgia for early online communities would go away if I could see people in person more often. But part of me is honestly scared that we'll have another pandemic when The Virus just mutates again. I want a way to connect with people that helps me get my thoughts out, share the experience of my life, and also encourages other people to do the same thing.
So I guess ... here I am, just starting it. Writing a longer post on my facebook. Thinking about deep loneliness, connecting through a screen, and preparing for another 6 months to a year of lockdown while we all get the vaccine.
I don't want a sleek new format. I don't care about things "looking right" or professional or anything like that. I want what I have on Dreamwidth, but with my closest people: A blog, and a reading list where I can engage with my friends' blogs and some communities. People I've introduced Dreamwidth to who didn't have a Livejournal wanted DW to be something it isn't. One thing I really wish we had in this community is an app, so it would be easy to read friends' posts on the go. But I know that takes time and lots of resources, as well as skills that I just don't have.
I don't know. Maybe I can convince more IRL friends to join me here.
I don't know. Maybe I can convince more IRL friends to join me here.
