(no subject)

[merchimerch]

I'm having one of those "does anyone even read this?" kind of moments. I'm wondering about the nature of lj communication - it all seems so one way. By reading peoples ljs I'm sucking up all their one way communication, and people (I think) do the same for me, but does it ever really turn into a dialogue in the way it would if I had a conversation with them? I wonder do I converse less with my friends now because I read their ljs? Of course with some people even having a regular conversation is like have side by side one way communication...anyway, I suppose the point of my lj is not to dialogue with people - at the moment it is to try and record some of my fieldwork year incase my hard drive gets wiped before I get home.

Comments

[trooper6.livejournal.com]

For me, my LJ is not really about conversation...well, not primarily. Conversation sometimes erupts, and sometimes I post something specifically for other people, but generally my LJ is, for me, a journal. I post my thoughts and opinions. Generally in public, I try always to be diplomatic about things...so there are many opinions I will not say...but in my journal I can say what I think about whatever I think. If people want to read they can, if not, they don't have to.

For me, the LJ is a place where I can speak out loud into the ether unconcerned about who my audience might be and what they might think about it. I allow myself the space to speak freely in my Livejournal...which is not space one always has in everyday life...at least not if one is as concerned about smooth social relations as I tend to be.

So...for me livejournal is primarily a window into my mind, not primarily a place for conversation. Though I never mind if conversation pops up.

[nisaa.livejournal.com]

For me, lj is like a place to write postcards to your friends. If there is too much text in one entry, I admit that I don't read them as much as it hurts my eyes. I like lj cuts. Mostly I just skim over your fieldwork entries and read the rest. But IM or email is definitely more direct for me. But I have some friends for whom LJ is the best way to get a hold of them. *shrug*

That and I've been incredibly busy with school - I just don't read everything my friends post. But just know that I'm thinking about you and am looking forward to seeing you when you get back to the States.

[rahvina.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm kind of with the above posters on this one :) Most of the stuff on my LJ is for me, but occassionally I'll leave notes for friends... more so they see them, not so much that they'll respond to them. I also like keeping up with what's going on in people's lives, although I don't tend to comment unless I really have something to say.

[merchimerch.livejournal.com]

I agree that mostly this is a good way to keep up with people's lives, at the moment I'm just wondering what it does to my other forms of communication. Right now I certainly use LJ as my main way of keeping up with everyone back in the states, but letters and emails and IMs seem dialogue based. I was thinking this morning about how much like a monologue this seems to me - and by reading a bunch of other people's life-monologues and having them read mine, is there still something major missing because there is no dialogue? That said, anyone I want to dialogue with is usually just an IM/email/phone call away, so it's moot.

[ame-chan.livejournal.com]

I don't know - sometimes it's a dialogue and sometimes it's not. I mean, I don't read it to necessarily "talk" back but I do read every post to hear what people have to say. And then, sometimes, I have something ot say in response so I do. Otherwise, it's like a long newsy letter.

Does that make sense?

[strangeden.livejournal.com]

I read. I rarely comment. Just so dang busy. :)

[sohrshah.livejournal.com]

I read when I have the time and I find it all fascinating. The question is time. I don't always have the time to get through everyone's entries, nevermind to comment.
:)

[iyindo.livejournal.com]

i think lj can be either monologue-like OR conversation-like. it depends on what people want to make it. the other thing to keep in mind about lj-ing is that people have less questions to ask when they've been reading your lj. for example, during your last trip to UZ, i read your lj religiously because it made me feel like i was experiencing things with you. i may not have commented or conversed with you about it as much, but it was extremely important to me. many things were right there in front of my eyes and i valued that. it's been a lot harder for me to keep up with lj as much as i'd like lately because i have so much to do in terms of planning for my students. but, i would certainly feel a void if your journal were to disappear.

"does anyone read this?" -- yes.

much heart,
iyindo

[merchimerch.livejournal.com]

"the other thing to keep in mind about lj-ing is that people have less questions to ask when they've been reading your lj."

I think this is really what I'm feeling around the edges of - I'm remembering how before LJ I used to keep in touch through email and snail mail letters between my friends, I don't have much of that anymore. Also, I'm wondering if I'll have any stories to tell those of you who read my lj - I'm kind of sad realizing that I'll come back from my year here and everyone will already know everything I could ever create an anecdote about.

[elissali.livejournal.com]

that doesn't mean we won't want to hear the stories again in person!

and I'm sure you can't have put everything (anecdote-wise) in your livejournal.

I know what you mean, though... but I find it's actually easier to feel like a part of my friends' lives though I'm far away when I read their livejournals... if I were to call them and talk to them (something I should really do more frequently), it would have to be a long conversation to catch up on things as much as I do by reading about them every day. but it is an interesting thought to wonder how it affects other communication. I find I email just as much as before, or maybe a little less, but I really never write letters and rarely call people. (lazy, I think... if you can just write a message while you're already on your computer... etc)