Blogs

For the last few months, I've been voyeuristically looking through the vast livejournal archives of a sampling of users. I've read several people's journals from inception up to the present. I've noticed a few things.

I've found that the best of them inevitably fall upon mundane lists of things the subjects have done, why they did them, and how they feel about it. Some of this is interesting, certainly. Especially where emotion is included instead of just pure summary of "what-I-did-where-I've-been."

The livejournal sensation follows a pattern, too. It is usually started during high school. For the first few months, the user has a limited circle of friends. Most expect that their words will not be read by anyone else, ever. Later, they start to write as a communication with friends and family, actually expecting their words to be seen and reacted to.

Livejournal seems the medium of choice for depressed rants. Probably because it feels like someone might hear you, but it's not like they can tell you to shut up. This is empowering and even soothing, in a way.

And of course the livejournal trademark: hundreds of quizzes. Hundreds and hundreds of quizzes. Surely there is something out there to do other than search for quizzes that will tell you what medieval weapon you are. Or what type of rare coin. Or what flavor of chalk. I mean, come on, people.

But through it all, I've noticed a sort of comfort that comes through livejournal. When a user is feeling bad, for the most part she'll get support from at least a few very close friends. This does wonders to cheer her up, even if she doesn't know the people in real life. Just the sense that someone out there understands is always good. In a lot of livejournals, there is a strong sense of community.

A problem I see with public journals, though, is the access. It seems reasonable that anyone who wants to can find a user's journal and read it. This includes people who he writes about, sometimes unfavorably. So the way I see it, he has three options:

• Take an "oh hell who cares what people think of me and wouldn't the world be better with more openness anyway" attitude, writing about anything he wants with little discrimination. This has the potential to hurt his friends' feelings, but he can write whatever he needs to, and it's a load off of his head.
• Self-censor what he writes with a mind toward who will be reading it. This requires that he knows exactly who has access to his journal, and he isn't able to write whatever he wants. It's a recipe for disaster, because someone crafty will find his journal who he didn't think would.
• Use the livejournal options to guard access to his journal from the people he doesn't want to read it. In most cases, this keeps the general public out, too, which stops one of the most rewarding parts of livejournal.

How exciting is it that somebody out there, somebody that he doesn't know, can be reading his journal, crying with the sad entries, laughing at the funny ones, and going through his life with him? I believe this is the essence of the weblog. Who knows who might come across your journal? For the most part, it will only be people who know you, but certainly someone out there will stumble upon it by accident, perhaps mistaking you for someone else? It's kind of fun to put your life on paper for complete strangers. It's something of a guilty pleasure, to be sure, but it's very enticing.

And after considering all of this, I actually did start a livejournal. It's bizarre, let me tell you, because I'm a relatively guarded person. But I figure, I'm putting a lot about myself on this website anyway. I might as well supplement it with an official weblog. I'll post the link a little later, but first I have to caution you.

Concerning the question of who reads my journal. I'm going to assume that everyone in the world reads it. However, I'm also going to try not to guard what I write. If I write something, and you read it, and it offends you, I'm sorry. I just had to get it off my chest. That being said, I probably will refrain from saying things like "Man, I really, really hate so-and-so."

And now for the link. If it interests you, please check it out.

• http://www.livejournal.com/users/threepistolnun/

Enjoy. I'm probably taking this whole thing a little too seriously. In fact, I'm certain that I am. But I tend to do that.