I’m recalling the various services I’ve used for journalling over the past several years. Remember Diaryland? Remember Scribble? Remember when Livejournal was the hot new thing?
I suppose I’ve always been more of an online journaller than a blogger. Blogging implies journalling with the intent to connect with and discuss issues with others, but as a journaller I’ve always focused inward – thoughts, feelings, aspirations, failures. Ahh, sweet narcissism.
Despite being a devoted Livejournal user for years, I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with online journalling. I’ve gone back and forth between entirely public journals to entirely private journals, and neither extreme really satisfies me, but the online medium stays the same. Why? I spend 70% of my week near a computer, whether it’s for work, school, or play. Journalling in the space where I spend so much of my time already is, simply, convenient.
But despite all this time I spend floating about the Internet, I’m a terrible blogger. Too introverted, maybe? Too self-centered, probably. We hermits do like our caves. Vox and co. does not subscribe to the preferred hermit lifestyle, methinks.
(There’s this freaky little Vox-dude on an ad banner on the side of this page, asking me “have you left a comment lately?” I can’t help but think he’s accusing me! Already, with the guilt!)
I like posting pictures, when I have new ones to post (a rare occasion). I enjoy the occasional random thought, link, quote. But what makes a good blogger, really? I find myself drawn to the “blogs” that are more like journals than blogs, so what do I know?