LJ Friends
I'll be happy when LJ implements their new "friends" features. As it is, it just doesn't do well. Who would've thought that a simple "friends" list would be such an issue for so many people?
But it is.
LJ made bandaids, like the ability to create friends filters and custom friends groups. They can be used for privacy from certain people on particular posts. They can be used to filter who you want to read from your friend's page.
But when it comes down to it, I feel a substantial amount of time is potentially wasted on avoiding hurting someone's feelings. Someone who you probably don't even hang out with every day. Someone who you probably haven't even met! The majority of people on my friends list are people that I really don't KNOW. The people I have met in person have a familiarity to me. I can relate to them because I can actually stand their company in real life. ;) A lot of cognitive thought goes into making the decision to physically hang out with someone.The other people on my friends list I met through LJ. Mostly from scrolling through LJ recent entries page or through other LJ friends.
LJ can turn into a proving ground for those friends that we haven't met in real life. For instance, womp_rat can write the most boring mundane entries in the world and I'll still keep him as a LJ friend because, well, he's my friend. On the other hand, someone else I don't know in real life might have to work a little harder to be interesting, to stand out.
When I really sit and ponder on LJ, I have to laugh sometimes. I mean, here we all are, a bunch of people writing about our lives. And we have subscribers to our LJ publication, "friends". We in turn subscribe to other's journals. Does anyone really read everything? No. We skim. We peruse. We look for the pictures. We really dig the juicy interesting stuff. We like to argue, debate, make ourselves look good. It's really nothing more than a high school hallway or a college campus for some. Gossip and superiority reign supreme.
When it all boils down, is anyone's life really interesting enough to write about? Yes, there are select people in this world whose lives are pretty darn interesting. Aside from a few that might keep a tour log or write a few words now and then, they don't keep online journals/blogs. Their journal is the media who follows every move they make.
I just can't make myself write about my life sometimes. I would rather post something amusing from The Onion than write about how I woke up, drank some tea, and went for a walk. Really, even I don't give a shit about that. How can my LJ friends even try to pretend to?
I especially don't get the people I have met in person, but don't hang out with who are a LJ friend. Some people I really can't hang out with that easily because they're in another state for crying out loud! If you have the ability to hang out with me in person, and don't, there's probably a reason. Here's a guess:You don't really like me, and really don't want to hang out. So why do you want to read about my life? If you truly want to give it a chance, then call me. Maybe start with emailing me. Don't bullshit me by "friending" me on LJ.
I am not on LJ to see how many "friends" I can get. I will not respond to "I'm cutting people;comment if you want to be kept". I will not keep people as "friends" to avoid hurting their feelings. So here's your due warning, add me, delete me, do whatever you want. I don't care. I'm keeping my LJ real from now on.
But it is.
LJ made bandaids, like the ability to create friends filters and custom friends groups. They can be used for privacy from certain people on particular posts. They can be used to filter who you want to read from your friend's page.
But when it comes down to it, I feel a substantial amount of time is potentially wasted on avoiding hurting someone's feelings. Someone who you probably don't even hang out with every day. Someone who you probably haven't even met! The majority of people on my friends list are people that I really don't KNOW. The people I have met in person have a familiarity to me. I can relate to them because I can actually stand their company in real life. ;) A lot of cognitive thought goes into making the decision to physically hang out with someone.The other people on my friends list I met through LJ. Mostly from scrolling through LJ recent entries page or through other LJ friends.
LJ can turn into a proving ground for those friends that we haven't met in real life. For instance, womp_rat can write the most boring mundane entries in the world and I'll still keep him as a LJ friend because, well, he's my friend. On the other hand, someone else I don't know in real life might have to work a little harder to be interesting, to stand out.
When I really sit and ponder on LJ, I have to laugh sometimes. I mean, here we all are, a bunch of people writing about our lives. And we have subscribers to our LJ publication, "friends". We in turn subscribe to other's journals. Does anyone really read everything? No. We skim. We peruse. We look for the pictures. We really dig the juicy interesting stuff. We like to argue, debate, make ourselves look good. It's really nothing more than a high school hallway or a college campus for some. Gossip and superiority reign supreme.
When it all boils down, is anyone's life really interesting enough to write about? Yes, there are select people in this world whose lives are pretty darn interesting. Aside from a few that might keep a tour log or write a few words now and then, they don't keep online journals/blogs. Their journal is the media who follows every move they make.
I just can't make myself write about my life sometimes. I would rather post something amusing from The Onion than write about how I woke up, drank some tea, and went for a walk. Really, even I don't give a shit about that. How can my LJ friends even try to pretend to?
I especially don't get the people I have met in person, but don't hang out with who are a LJ friend. Some people I really can't hang out with that easily because they're in another state for crying out loud! If you have the ability to hang out with me in person, and don't, there's probably a reason. Here's a guess:You don't really like me, and really don't want to hang out. So why do you want to read about my life? If you truly want to give it a chance, then call me. Maybe start with emailing me. Don't bullshit me by "friending" me on LJ.
I am not on LJ to see how many "friends" I can get. I will not respond to "I'm cutting people;comment if you want to be kept". I will not keep people as "friends" to avoid hurting their feelings. So here's your due warning, add me, delete me, do whatever you want. I don't care. I'm keeping my LJ real from now on.