So for those of you with Facebook & LJ, which do you prefer? Or if not a matter or decided preference, which do you use more? Do you find yourself using both with the same frequency
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I spend muuuuch more time on LJ than facebook. Facebook is more like a really multi-layered address book for me, where I mostly go to contact people I can't get a hold of otherwise or look at photos when I'm bored.
But I see how it'd be hard to feel connected to LJ if you're not spending a lot of time on it.
I like that phrase: "a multi-layered address book."
I think, for me, it's because I use the two similarly that I wonder about the modes of communication they allow me. Both are utilities I use to get updates on people's lives. Since I've been in a period of not much LJ-writing, both Facebook & LJ are places I go to read bits of information about others. LJ offers one kind: often-thoughtful, longer commentary, and Facebook offers another: little blasts of what the writer in the article was calling "ambiant information."
In my opinion, LJ and fbook are completely different kinds of internet social networking sites. I've always been averse to the fbook obsession (it became popular just as I entered college in 2005, so my year has really "grown up" alongside its development). I think that what it replaces is real communication -- phonecalls, postcards, and even email. You don't call to say happy birthday, you say one line on someone's fbook wall when you're reminded to do so.
In all honesty, I probably see about 20-30 facebook "friends" in real life on a daily basis, but I probably only say hi to half that, if even.
LJ, on the other hand, hasn't replaced anything. There was never some kind of real life version of journal sharing, so I find the interactions on a blogging website much more genuine, even if hidden behind a veil of language and words. You're more likely to have a meaningful conversation in your LJ than on a Wall-to-Wall discussion on facebook
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I started college in 2005 too, and it's been really interesting to watch all the stages of Facebook morphing into what it is today.
And I agree that facebook interaction is less meaningful (at least in my case) and there's something much more personal about the journal aspect of LJ. Plus facebook is for people you know in real life (mostly) but aren't really good friends with most of the time, but on LJ you meet people from all over the world who you have things in a common with and a lot of whom could become your really close personal friends in everyday life if they lived next door, you know?
Yeah, definitely. I do like the fact that's it's become more all-inclusive (before, it was sort of the elitist internet club where you could flaunt what university you were at), but it needs a lot more work if it's to become a legitimate method of communication (to overtake email, for instance).
And completely agreed on the second point. The idea of anonymity was always fascinating to me -- how we become personal with people we don't know, but distance ourselves in cryptic entries. I've made a rule not to facebook-friend my LJ friends, but my LJ is open to my real-life friends ... and my mom.
i use both but i probably hang around on lj longer, maybe because it's necessary to read the f list. i think it's easier to get drive by information from fb, i also like the whole events bit, it kind of acts like a personal organiser! you can get in touch with people, make plans, share pictures, and it's all so simple, i think the simplicity is what has made it popular. also the stalking, i like that too ;)
Yes, the simplicity is a big thing. I love reading LJ entries, but there's also something very satisfying (and easier) about going to Fbook and spending 2.5 minutes reading my News Feed. Of course after doing that 10 times in a day, there's no time left for reading an LJ flist.
I go to facebook more often too. I like facebook to get a brief check in and basic update on what friends and acquaintances are doing, and in some ways it's more entertaining. But I like lj to find out more detailed updates from good friends. And god knows having a place to post while going thru my recent family trauma partly got me through it.
I see them as two entirely separate modes of online communication. For me, LiveJournal is an electronic diary - the fact that people can read and interact with it is an added bonus. It's for posterity. Facebook is for day to day accessibility of friends I actually know. It's supplementary; it fills in time. It's useful for the organisation of events and collation of photos and it's entertaining. I keep up with friends who're overseas especially well on Facebook. The only real INSTEAD OF clause I'd say I use it for is when I private message people rather than sending a (costly) cell phone text message. It's just more convenient. Of course, when I want immediate responses I'll still text or call, so maybe it's an and/or thing. I never used to email my friends in high school - I called. So Facebook hasn't replaced that, either, just added an extra means of reaching someone. I honestly don't see what the difference is between an email and a Facebook PM, anyway. There's no formality that dictates an email ought to be structured like a
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But I see how it'd be hard to feel connected to LJ if you're not spending a lot of time on it.
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I think, for me, it's because I use the two similarly that I wonder about the modes of communication they allow me. Both are utilities I use to get updates on people's lives. Since I've been in a period of not much LJ-writing, both Facebook & LJ are places I go to read bits of information about others. LJ offers one kind: often-thoughtful, longer commentary, and Facebook offers another: little blasts of what the writer in the article was calling "ambiant information."
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In all honesty, I probably see about 20-30 facebook "friends" in real life on a daily basis, but I probably only say hi to half that, if even.
LJ, on the other hand, hasn't replaced anything. There was never some kind of real life version of journal sharing, so I find the interactions on a blogging website much more genuine, even if hidden behind a veil of language and words. You're more likely to have a meaningful conversation in your LJ than on a Wall-to-Wall discussion on facebook ( ... )
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And I agree that facebook interaction is less meaningful (at least in my case) and there's something much more personal about the journal aspect of LJ. Plus facebook is for people you know in real life (mostly) but aren't really good friends with most of the time, but on LJ you meet people from all over the world who you have things in a common with and a lot of whom could become your really close personal friends in everyday life if they lived next door, you know?
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And completely agreed on the second point. The idea of anonymity was always fascinating to me -- how we become personal with people we don't know, but distance ourselves in cryptic entries. I've made a rule not to facebook-friend my LJ friends, but my LJ is open to my real-life friends ... and my mom.
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