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It's almost 1 am, and I should be in bed, but I'm wired. Partly because I had too much chocolate after 7pm, and partly because I'm nervous about an interview and volunteer gig next week. So I'm dealing with it the way I always deal with stress, by writing about something else. Writing is how I handle pain, stress, joy, etc. It drives me. If I wasn't doing it online, I'd be doing it in a private journal. The reason I bring this up is well, something that's been nagging at me since Thursday's Ghost in The Robot Gig.
At the gig, I remarked to someone that I kept a livejournal. The person scoffed at me, hinting that livejournal keepers spend way too much time online interacting with faceless entities instead of real-people. The comment bothered me. (For several reasons, which I won't go into - but the main one was whether or not she was right, was I relying on a crutch?)
So I thought it over a bit. Was this a crutch? The person I mentioned is *not* a writer and non-writers do not understand the drive to write. To figure out things through the written word and the preference for the written word over say oral communication. To me - emailing back and forth or exchanging livejournal posts is far more productive and far easier than picking up a cell phone (which I don't own) or a phone period.
I express myself best through the written word. That said?
I do use the phone and have met many of the people I've exchanged emails with online in person. I also enjoy face to face contact. But I never would have met these people if it weren't for the ability to express myself through words online. Several of them contacted me - because of those words.
Livejournal unlike fanboards or posting boards or listserves, provides the journal keeper with a vast network of contacts, interests and discussion topics. You don't have to worry about a moderator telling you something is *too* personal or *off* topic. Nor do you have to worry about the world seeing what you post - since you can privatize or friends lock it - restricting your words to a few friends. What many outsiders do not realize is that livejournal is *not* restricted to fan topics. You can discuss writing on livejournal, gardening, art, business, what job you have, post jobs, ask for employment, ask for information about a company, involve others in a writing experiment, the list is endless. In livejournal you have the ability to express yourself any way you wish through words and images. You aren't censored for language, content or images. Livejournal is an expression of what the internet was meant to be - a means of quickly exchanging ideas and thoughts without worrying about international boundaries or vast distances. With livejournal, you can interact on a daily basis and become friends with someone who lives across the country or world from you. It's not the same as letter writing, in letter writing you have to wait for a reply or hope it is recieved - this is instant.
The person I spoke to, said it wasn't real contact, partly because we all use pseudonymes or online names. But isn't it? I've received tangible items from people as far away from England and California. What is real contact? Talking on a telephone? Meeting someone in the street? How do we connect with each other and whose to say what is real and what isn't?
Granted if you spend 24/7 on your livejournal, you might want to take a break. But none of my livejournal friends do that.
We post about our lives. Movies we've seen. Books we've read.
Friends we've met. Things we've written. Jobs we have. So clearly we aren't spending all of our time online. Actually I spend less time now than I did without a livejournal.
Why do I continue to keep one? Because it makes me happy.
I enjoy the connection and the interaction. I learn something new about myself and the world every time I read my friends list. It broadens my mind and challenges it. It also keeps me focused on my goals.
I'm not sure people who don't know about livejournal or have never tried it can possibly understand how wonderful an experience it is to someone who loves to write and read as much as I do. Nor am I sure it matters. I learned long ago that not everyone will understand my passions and interests, many I've kept private over the years (such as comic books and
cult tv shows like BTVS), but that should not prevent me from having them or sharing them with others.
Well, off to bed now. Read some more of Dunnett's Ringed Castle, take a hot shower, maybe relax, before getting up around 9ish tomorrow morning to call staffing companies and do more research on Liberty Mutual.
At the gig, I remarked to someone that I kept a livejournal. The person scoffed at me, hinting that livejournal keepers spend way too much time online interacting with faceless entities instead of real-people. The comment bothered me. (For several reasons, which I won't go into - but the main one was whether or not she was right, was I relying on a crutch?)
So I thought it over a bit. Was this a crutch? The person I mentioned is *not* a writer and non-writers do not understand the drive to write. To figure out things through the written word and the preference for the written word over say oral communication. To me - emailing back and forth or exchanging livejournal posts is far more productive and far easier than picking up a cell phone (which I don't own) or a phone period.
I express myself best through the written word. That said?
I do use the phone and have met many of the people I've exchanged emails with online in person. I also enjoy face to face contact. But I never would have met these people if it weren't for the ability to express myself through words online. Several of them contacted me - because of those words.
Livejournal unlike fanboards or posting boards or listserves, provides the journal keeper with a vast network of contacts, interests and discussion topics. You don't have to worry about a moderator telling you something is *too* personal or *off* topic. Nor do you have to worry about the world seeing what you post - since you can privatize or friends lock it - restricting your words to a few friends. What many outsiders do not realize is that livejournal is *not* restricted to fan topics. You can discuss writing on livejournal, gardening, art, business, what job you have, post jobs, ask for employment, ask for information about a company, involve others in a writing experiment, the list is endless. In livejournal you have the ability to express yourself any way you wish through words and images. You aren't censored for language, content or images. Livejournal is an expression of what the internet was meant to be - a means of quickly exchanging ideas and thoughts without worrying about international boundaries or vast distances. With livejournal, you can interact on a daily basis and become friends with someone who lives across the country or world from you. It's not the same as letter writing, in letter writing you have to wait for a reply or hope it is recieved - this is instant.
The person I spoke to, said it wasn't real contact, partly because we all use pseudonymes or online names. But isn't it? I've received tangible items from people as far away from England and California. What is real contact? Talking on a telephone? Meeting someone in the street? How do we connect with each other and whose to say what is real and what isn't?
Granted if you spend 24/7 on your livejournal, you might want to take a break. But none of my livejournal friends do that.
We post about our lives. Movies we've seen. Books we've read.
Friends we've met. Things we've written. Jobs we have. So clearly we aren't spending all of our time online. Actually I spend less time now than I did without a livejournal.
Why do I continue to keep one? Because it makes me happy.
I enjoy the connection and the interaction. I learn something new about myself and the world every time I read my friends list. It broadens my mind and challenges it. It also keeps me focused on my goals.
I'm not sure people who don't know about livejournal or have never tried it can possibly understand how wonderful an experience it is to someone who loves to write and read as much as I do. Nor am I sure it matters. I learned long ago that not everyone will understand my passions and interests, many I've kept private over the years (such as comic books and
cult tv shows like BTVS), but that should not prevent me from having them or sharing them with others.
Well, off to bed now. Read some more of Dunnett's Ringed Castle, take a hot shower, maybe relax, before getting up around 9ish tomorrow morning to call staffing companies and do more research on Liberty Mutual.
