Monk

There was a time when just the term ‘blog’ carried a certain cachet, an aura of coolness. All the high schoolers and college students didn’t want to be left behind without one. And LiveJournal rode high on those cultural currents, even spawning many imitators wanting in on the action. In fact, it was through Blurty that I came in on the fun, and it was hard to see that site stall and all but die.

But fashions and cool currents rise and die fast in the information age, and the economic downturn is shaking up the business of Internet social life. Blogs now seem old as dinosaurs. MySpace was a significant but tolerable incursion into the blogoshpere, but that technology has matured into the Facebook phenomenon, which in conjunction with the growth of webcam sites, such as Justin-TV, now threatens to render LiveJournal as obsolete as Tyrannosaurus Rex, though at least it may be a slow death rather that a quick, fiery extinction. I don’t expect LJ to go the way of GreatestJournal in my lifetime, but it seems to be going that way.

With my old, beaten face, a site called Facebook doesn’t sound like a promising avenue of experiment. But LiveJournal doesn’t seem to have a sustainable business model, and maybe its market will be limited to homely, somewhat introverted writers who find an e-diary to be better than maintaining a growing collection of scribbled notebooks in the closet, and who enjoy some connectivity with others to discuss news and some personal affairs.

Ironically, LiveJournal’s survival may depend on its more sexually adventurous clients, which were the people they started pushing out when they were making a bid to get profitable in the Facebook age. A mass-audience site will presumably have to keep it pretty PG-rated and family friendly. So, maybe LJ will be less hostile to the non-anti-social perverts who just like to write out their dark passions. Run on less money and rely on a niche clientele of serious diarists and other deviants.

__________

Sources:

Press Release

LJ post

some discussion

In a bit of whimsy, I checked to see if GreatestJournal is still around. The site is still up, but now it's degenerated to the point where you cannot even post anymore. I'm still upset that the bastards lost all my pictures that I uploaded there. I had some special irreplaceable ones stored there.

Anyway, I noticed that another new LJ-type site is up and running: Inksome. If you look at the discussion at that news post, you'll see that it is just now attracting another wave of LJ refugees. The new userinfo page seems to be driving this little exodus.

It is too early to say what will become of Inksome, but, nevertheless, it is not a true competitor with LiveJournal. It seems to be another one-man operation. In fact, it looks like another InsaneJournal, and that site has been having all kinds of trouble, and I gather by the discussion that it's even offline now. The mothership remains the only real playground, unless you want to escape this Evil Empire altogether and go to Blogger or Blogspot, whatever.

As far as the userinfo page controversy goes, I've already grown used to it, now that I know it like my bruised dick. But I still think the new design is ugly. I cannot even see how that's a debate. It would help appreciably if they just gave the page a light-colored background, because all that white space kills. I'd still opt for the old userinfo page in a heartbeat.

Is it just me, or does the new Profile page suck shit?

___ ___ ___

Well, at least reading the discussion at LJ News has been good for some laughs, seeing the shared disbelief and hatred for this new design. I cannot remember the last time I laughed this hard. But it comes with tears, fearing that LJ is actually going to keep this excretory design.

Our policy on Non-Photographic Images of Minors is being removed. What this means is that we will no longer be requiring the removal of this content, or suspending people who have posted it. We feel that with the introduction of the adult content flagging system, we do not need to take any further action on this type of material.

-- LJ Policy

Wow, it looks like we are back to the pre-Six Apart, Brad days. Unless I misunderstand, we can post a drawing of Humbert Humbert laying it into twelve-year-old Lolita in full, wet, squicky detail, so long as it is age-protected. You just cannot use actual photographs of real children, of course.

It is nice to be free in imagination and dreams, no matter how wild and depraved, where the beast within can roam free, as he cannot do in real life, which can be a valued and even necessary freedom for those more limited and repressed in their real lives.

Calendar view of journal was modified - now you see the number of posts you have permission to read

-- LJ Releases

That definitely takes a lot of the fun out of stalking. Now one is just left with checking when a journal was last updated. Not nearly the same thrill.

It looks like LJ is taking a more user-friendly policy stance on adult materials. As far as underage stuff goes, you just cannot use images, provided that you are not clearly glorifying and promoting the sexual use of children, or of rape for that matter. I feel a lot better about LiveJournal now.

.....
Sources

Draft Proposal Policies

LJ Policy Discussion

♠
“I would not trust Russian business with my credit card info...”

-- LJer from Russia living in America

Now, this actually strikes me as an interesting point. No offense to Russians, but the country is rife with gangsterism. This is where it would have been nice to have gotten a permanent account.

xXx

♠
Now, LJ goes Russian!

I remember when the Russians were just the new kids, and now they have taken over apparently. My first reaction is that this sounds like a relief. The company will apparently be all about LJ, instead of being the mistreated stepchild of Six Apart. The laws and policies remain American. And Brad is on board, albeit in a non-controlling position.

So many LJ revolutions! I feel optimistic, but am not unwary.

Will they loosen the leash on free speech, or will they actually continue the more restrictive policies that Six Apart has put in place?

....

Six Apart Says Goodbye to LiveJournal

xXx

♠
I see LJ has the flags out, making it easier for any self-appointed guardians of the public morals to trash our journals, showing once again that under the new regime, protecting corporate sensibilities is more important than the actual users of the community. Instead of a flag icon, I wish they used a picture of Orwell's Big Brother.

xXx

♠
I'll say this
about LJ's sweep to make this place Disney Safe,
the ads are a lot better and prettier
and more varied.

Though,
I'd rather have free speech,
and not have to worry
that this smutty story or that nasty picture
crosses some uncertain line in some staffer's mind
and all is lost and you're exiled,
and not to feel that slight trembly sweat when you click 'post'.

xXx