Where Oh Where Have All The Bloggers Gone...

[aggienaut]

   Well that's depressing. So. After having admittedly rather neglected LJ for the last year or so, sometimes only posting once a month and not looking at my friends list much at all, I've been getting back in it (in my defense I was busy adjusting to life in a new country and all). And I've been aggressively trying to find currently active LJers to friend and follow and ... it's been depressing. I've found the overwhelming majority of accounts haven't been updated in years.

   It recently occured to me to look at the friends feed from my original LJ, emosnail, which I used during Ye Livejournal Golden Days until about 2008 or so, and sure enough, the ONLY one of the 200+ once active friends of that account is... myself.

   Today it occured to me (for the first time in 15 years of LJing!) that there might be an LJ community dedicated to travel writing I should investigate and maybe meet some like-minded people there. ...of the two general communities I found, both had almost exclusively Russian language posts (even though the second one explicitly stated in its profile that it was English only and non-English posts would be deleted!), and by the tenth post down one was in 2015 or so.
   I found one travelogger whose writing I really really liked and I was very exciting ... and then I realized he left LJ in 2012 for wordpress, and that's when I started to feel like I really am among the last ones on an abandoned planet or something.

   Are there really better places for blogging with community interaction out there? Obviously anyone here is by definition also among the LJ die-hards. I see a lot of people posting to dreamwidth and crossposting to here, what's dreamwidth like?
   It has occurred to me the empirical way to investigate this would be to think of like 10 bloggers I quite liked from Ye Glory Days and figure out Where Are They Now, and thus I wouldn't be talking to fellow stubborn holdouts like myself. ::Sigh:: I don't know, I really like LJ, but maybe there IS something else out there and that's why people leave and never come back?

Comments

[ryl.livejournal.com]

Most of my friends from Ye Glory Days went to FB which is horrible for any kind of long-form writing. I'm beginning to think that we dedicated LJers are going to have to get together and create the new platform ourselves.

[xo-kizzy-xo.livejournal.com]

This. The only active people on my LJ are us diehards, and I've noticed that even some of them aren't posting as much as they had been. Then again, it's summer, and LJ engagement has always dropped this time of year.

Most people are using Dreamwidth as an archive as opposed to Glory Days LJ clone. There is very little, if any, community there.

Instagram and FB, however, work surprisingly well for micro essays with a photograph. A few people -- and one Idoler I know of -- are doing that rather than posting here. It's like a nonfiction form of flash fiction.

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

Hmm could be a thing! I'm sure there are programmers amongst us. And wasn't the LJ software once open source? I remember there was a clone for awhile called deadjournal. But I think we can all agree none of us feel our Russian lords and masters have our best interests in mind any more.

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

Also, is that the Osberg Ship??

[spaciireth.livejournal.com]

I use Wordpress for more "professional" (for want of a better word) blogging, but I don't feel that any of the other platforms really cater to the same type of engagement that LJ does/did, unless you manage to hit it big. I've supposedly got over 700 followers on my book review blog, but about 20 of them actually talk to me. There's no reciprocity on those ones the way there is much more often on LJ. I keep a backup of my LJ on DW, but I've never really used it properly so I can't say if it's more active or anything.

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

I've been seriously considering posting to dreamwidth or blogspot or wordpress also for a "more professional" place to have a blog.... but I don't want to have to learn how to navigate another site d:

[meisje-viktoria.livejournal.com]

It seems to be an issue with blogging in general, that people just seem to find instragram and small comments in Twitter is easier than in depth entries in a journal, which is a real shame. I love LJ, and even with what one of my fellow LJers called "The Russo-Scare", I stayed here. I tried to use Dreamwidth also, but he interface was not to my liking. It a shame, because this used to be an archive for a lot of great ideas and concepts, but it seems only the diehards are here and there are not that many here anymore ;-(

Keep up the journal though, you have people who still enjoy your view into the world.

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

Yeah I know FB and twitter took away a lot of people who just wanted to express themselves in short messages (to this day I don't understand why twitter is so popular), and so I don't concern myselves overly much with the people that left for that, but I miss all the people who would write about a page or so about whatever was on their mind and it would be funny and readabile and we'd bounce inside jokes and references to eachother around.

As I mentioned I'm on a big push right now to find people who are still around (which is how I found you!), but where to find them in this big wide LJ-o-sphere that is just liiiiiittered with dead journals now.

[millysdaughter.livejournal.com]

I did **try** to crosspost from dreamwidth. It did not work for me.
I did get a kick in the teeth from photobucket, who sent me a nastygram that said unless I pay therm $50 per month, my pictures will no longer work on LJ.
So now I am dithering.

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

Rude! I used to post pictures to photobucket that I wanted to host but not have on my flickr account (if for example it's a picture I didn't take but I have on my computer or something). But I always found photobucket tedious to work with so now if I just post to flickr in the private setting and then I can still post them into entries and things.

[xo-kizzy-xo.livejournal.com]

I haven't gotten that email yet but I heard about it elsewhere. I took down all my personal photos the other day. The royalty free ones can disappear.

Greetings!

[baron-waste.livejournal.com]

You ain't kiddin'.

“My friends list looks like a marquee with maybe
three bulbs still lit, and all the rest dark.”


        In this case, the darkened windows and rusting pipes of Old Town are eclipsed by the lights and tumult
        of Новый-Город, the “New Town” built by the new owners and very much a going concern, like a larger
        crater overlapping the smaller, older one. There's where it's at nowadays - but there's a barrier.

        They're nice enough folks, but like us, if you don't speak the language you'll not get far. 
        Meanwhile, we remnants over here go quietly about our affairs, past the innumerable disused LJ-
        community centers and boarded-up individual apartments…



    

“I can play my music as loud as I want!”



«Но нет в пустынном мире никого»

<=\\=\\=\\=\\=>

Edit to Add:

Oh, yah - “Antwerp”

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

This comment is epic!

Are those abandoned city pictures Pripyat?

[bleodswean.livejournal.com]

*nods* It seems all the screaming and complaining of the past seven or so years is finally culminating in this quiet gasping. It's pretty terrible for those of us who love it here and don't use other platforms.

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

Indeed it is, indeed ::looks out the window thoughtfully ::

Re: Travel Comms

[baron-waste.livejournal.com]

I assume travel_writing is one of them.  As they invited “fictional travel stories,” I was going to have some fun with that…


            


- but when you're grown up real life has a way of interfering with such pastimes!

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

Haha I do love airships! It brings me a little joy that my little village here is named Birregurra WHICH when I try to type it on my phone, since I still use T9 like a goad-damn amish and because my phone is stubborn as a mule and won't learn new words, Birregurra comes out as "airships."

[ani-mama.livejournal.com]

Most people, myself included, seem to use Dreamwidth only as a backup. I have looked around other places, but I still enjoy the connections I can make with people here the best. It really is too bad that so many journals have gone dark.
Of the hundreds of people still listed as "friends" I talk to maybe 20.

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

Hmm I think I'll see about at least backing up over there, it's always made me a bit nervous that if something happens to LJ literally hundreds of hours of my life worth of writing would be up in smoke. I'd be thoroughly traumatized.

[pundigrion.livejournal.com]

I think most people just moved to FaceBook. Many of us that are left don't use FB I notice or only use it sparingly. A few have returned from the depths of FB after realizing they missed being able to write longer entries and have deeper interactions.

Some have gone to DW. I have an account there too, but only use it as an archive because I found the community there never really took off as well and I got tired of reading doubles. I would hate to lose all my content and comments here though, so it is nice having it as a back-up! I started mine after one of the other exodus events, probably the big fandom one or maybe the breastfeeding one (neither effected me, but DW was formed right after one of them and I liked the idea of having an archive)

ETA: Oh! And the way I get most of my active people now is though the friendzies or sometimes just from friending friends of friends that seem interesting.

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

what was the breastfeeding exodus event??

[unmutual.livejournal.com]

Hello, new friend! :)

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

Hello! how are you today? (:

[nodrog]

baron_waste here.  Welcome!

[aggienaut]

Hello! Thanks! Still have barely explored this place!

[alexpgp]

Wow! Great to hear from you!

When I first heard the name, I steeled myself for an encounter with an all-too-familiar entity here in Texas—a true, dyed-in-the-wool alumnus of Texas A&M, also known as an "Aggie" (though I am not sure that alumnus status is actually a requirement).

If I may ask, how did you arrive at the name?

Cheers...

Aggienaut

[aggienaut]

Basically, since a lot of my posts are about my travels as an agricultural consultant, it's Aggie as an agricultural-person + argonaut. Coincidentally I went to UC Davis, whose mascot is ALSO the Aggie so if the alumni association comes calling I can tell them it's Aggie pride and no I have no money to donate. See also I posted an entry about my naming ruminations.

[skimmed-miilk.livejournal.com]

I use Dreamwidth after the changes to the LJ TOS, but I x-post and still check back here as I have a small handful of friends still active on here who haven't moved over. I miss the old days, I'd spend my whole time on LJ and never run out of content to read, and the community feeling was one like I've never felt anywhere else. Social media kind of killed journals... I have to say though, I've found some new and very active friends on Dreamwidth, so I live in hope of recapturing some of the old glory!

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Ii suppose as they say, you can never go back to the good ole days. But it's not like we're longing after horse drawn buggies here, you would think if anything as communications technology gets better someone would figure out how to make an even better blogging community. Maybe it's still out there, like how the social media sites were fractured between myspace, friendster and finally facebook which Won the War, maybe someday some new blogging platform that is perfect will unite the fractured blogospheres of livejournal, dreamwidth, wordpress, and blogspot in one happy perfect blogtopia... : :looks off whistfully into the blogdistance::

[mexpatriot.livejournal.com]

Hi! I saw that you added me. I added you back. I've been here 17 years. I changed journals at a point. I wanted a fresh start. There seem to have been a number of LJ "crises" over the years. By 2003, people were saying that the party was over. Now, the "Russian Scare," thing, which seems silly. It's been Russian owned for years. I absolutely loathe FB and Twitter.

Anyhow, I am glad that there are some of us die-hards left! Glad that you added me!

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

Hi! I think started on LJ in 2002, so fifteen years ago. It's definitely changed a lot since then, with so many people flooding out like the plug in a bathtub being pulled, to other platforms and other social media tools. But yeah, I'm perfectly happy scrapping around in the ruins here. But us die hards need to stick together! (:

[brickhousewench.livejournal.com]

I saw that you just added me here on LiveJournal. I abandoned LJ for Dreamwidth back in April. Just so you know, I no longer post here, although I still read occasionally because I have a couple of friends who haven't moved yet.

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

Oh I just created a dreamwidth account! I am Aggienaut over there.

Coincidentally -

[baron-waste.livejournal.com]

http://lavenderfieldss.livejournal.com/35045.html


There are former LJers who would like to return,
but their friends lists have been deserted.
Let's all welcome them back with open arms and
show them that LJ is very much alive!

-2977 comments


http://the-toast.net/2015/04/01/in-celebration-old-school-livejournal/

Re: Coincidentally -

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

Whoa that's a lot of comments!  Cool that people are coming back though! I'm in obscure places like rural Kyrgyzstan for most of the next month but hopefully I remember to haunt that thread when I get a moment!

Re:&nbsp; Wikivoyage!

[baron-waste.livejournal.com]

http://baron-waste.livejournal.com/2081865.html

[rogerdoger.livejournal.com]

As usual I seem to be late to the party. I had your message what a week, two weeks ago? I guess when you started your quest to locate active LJers, Since I don't use it as much it took me a while to get back and have only now had a little snoop around on your LJ.

I like most others also come here much less since it all dropped off. Its the only place I really kept anything of a journal and I do keep meaning to do more, but miss the little bit of response I got from a post. You seem to have hit the jackpot and have what must be the only really active group left. Maybe I should stick around here.