(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

[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)