Moving from blogs to lj. Why did you move to lj?

[naanima]

I abandoned my blog at pitas and moved to lj for many reasons but mainly because I was tired with all the things that went with keeping a blog. There seemed to be a constant pressure to keep writing in it, to keep on changing the layout and to keep on adding people to my blog links b'cos they linked me for one reason or another. All of it was just getting to me, and perhaps it was tempered with a lots of other things that was happening at the same time but it felt like I was in a very public sphere being scrutinised at every moment by too many people I didn't know. But perhaps the most annoying thing was that I felt like I was getting dragged into fandom even when I wasn't participating in it.

So I got up and left and after a three months break from blogging I got myself an account at lj and haven't looked back. Hell, I'm still trying to remember how so many RL people ended knowing my url anyways. But that's not the point, the point is I like lj much more, I feel safer, that only the people I want to read my journal are reading it.

This might be a very stupid and wrong assumption but it is the way I feel. I'm more relaxed and having much more fun keeping this journal than I did when I was keeping a blog at pitas. Maybe I've grown, maybe I've gotten a thicker skin, or maybe it's just that I no longer speak of the really personal things anymore, which ever, keeping an lj doesn't feel like an obligation that make me tired all the time anymore.

Beside being fun and relaxing, there seem to be less politics attached to keeping an lj. I know of the fiasco with the whole 'friending' thing but coming from keeping a blog. the pressure to friend people seem like child's play in comparison to linking people. I can't explain this very well, as I'm still trying to figure this out as well, but there is less pressure, at least for me, and all the irritation that comes with having an lj (down time, friending etc.) really does seem quite small in relation to blogs.

Mind you, this is all subjective, and if nothing else I know I might be over thinking this. People might have moved just because they were bored with blogger ^^;; But whichever, I'm rather curious as to why quite a few of you abandoned your blogs at blogger, pitas, or whatever other blogging server you were using and moved to lj? Some of you even did it without bothering to tell anyone, while others still keep an lj and a blog. Just what attracted you to lj, and what made you leave your blogs? And for those of you who keep two journals, how the hell do you have the time?

Comments

[amei.livejournal.com]

Why the move?

For all the reasons you mentioned. Oh yes. And one word. Feedback. I can get feedback on my art from friends/strangers I don't usually catch online. I dislike the hubbub of art forums, to Ljs are the way to go.

As for the two journal thing, the pitas one is rotting away.

[frogdance.livejournal.com]

oh man.. I was the worst logger. I started out at Pitas, moved, went manual for a bit, tried upsaid, used blogger, went back to manual, got a diaryland account (but never used it) and then came here. And now I also have a dead Devaintart account which I've only used once.

I don't know. For me, I didn't like having to make layouts (course I hardly ever did) and there's the whole hassle or setting up which I didn't like. I also liked to comment on other people's LiveJournals.

history

[worldserpent.livejournal.com]

I always had an LJ to keep up on LJs. Having an LJ is useful because a lot of people make locked posts.

As for why I abandoned my blog. It sure seems like more people read LJs, and I got tired of having a domain. I felt like I didn't have anything else to say in terms of sites. Plus I also did get tired of layouts.

There do seem to be stupid fandom wars associated with LJs, but IIRC a lot of blogwars didn't cross over, because they were associated with layouts or fandoms that don't really exist on LJ (like the X fandom)

[meril.livejournal.com]

Charmian sent me (well, she linked your entry.) Hi.

I understand where you're coming from, due to your specific fandom position; but in my case, I find LJ more political. You see, I'm an ex-Harry Potter fandomer. Everything that you found with your blog experience, I found with my LJ experience. Potter people don't use blogs.

I'm sticking with my blog permanently. I like the fact it's on a domain that I have some area of control over. There's no abuse department for someone to whine to when they don't like my opinion. I can change servers whenever I like; if my host goes out of business, it's easier to move than if LJ takes a dive. My Movable Type-powered blog is easier to back up than an LJ.

Friends only...

[anarch-kitty.livejournal.com]

The lovely thing about an LJ is that, as you say, only the people you want reading your observations, etc are able to read it, if you choose. But if you were feeling particularly narcissistic on any given day, you can do that too! :)

I never had a blog and LJ is the first public forum I can truly call my own. And the freedom to post or not to post (and not have anyone telling you ~ POST!) is quite relaxing for someone like me. Damn, RL time is soooooo limited for me so it's very liberating for me to not feel the pressure to continually put my comments online.

There are probably a gazillion other reasons..... :)

[baka-neko.livejournal.com]

Goodness, I started with lj before you even needed codes. I did venture briefly into pitas and diaryland mostly because I was lured by the layouts...but when I realized the amount of basic html I needed to know just to post one entry...I never even started.

I went straight to Lj simply because I have no html skills to speak of, and comments are much, much easier. And of course, I found out about communities much later. But depending where you go, I suspect there can be just as much politics--people are people are people. The Harry Potter fandom especially has had their own furious lj wars, all of which I more or less watched bug-eyed and vaguely amused from the sidelines. The anime communities seem to be quieter, but there have been a few tempers here and there.

Hmm...

[eirivan.livejournal.com]

Hah. Used to have a blog at blogger but well, I suck at HTML and could never really be satisfied with what I had. Plus, I'm hell lazy. All I need here in LJ is to make kyo icons and occasionally kyo backgrounds. That keeps me happy enough ^____^ (KYO *HEART*) Well, I got into getting blog because it was something novel and it was a place where I could go to write what I felt and tell my closest friends how am I. (Especially for us, its not that simple as picking up the phone) Its the same for LJ. I have private entries, friends entries...and well, public ones that don't mean anything at all. I'm glad you feel more comfy here. I realised as time passes and my friends list grow I get more uncomfortable with posting what I'm thinking...

I have a friend who doesn't understand the seeming need we have to put our lives online. I suppose, to an extent part of lives are online - especially when it comes to Diru for me.I think I communicate with more RL people online than I do face to face. Sometimes that distrubs greatly....

[lacewood]

I started on blogging, and got an lj sometime this year, then moved over completely quite recently - er. I suppose it was a combination of reasons.

My lj was supposed to be a ficlog (because they have nifty things like cut tags, and I didn't need to be schizoid about layouts), with my blog for everything else. But then it seemed that I never had anything interesting to /blog/ about, and fell out of the habit of social blogging - so my blog got neglected. And I found all sorts of fun people, fandom-wise, on lj, so that was that.

I miss the layouts, personally (can't figure out those damn overrides, so I give up), but yes, you /do/ fell pressured to update with a blog that isn't quite as bad with an lj (not to mention, lj is /evilly/ easy to use...)

[velithya]

I got an LJ because I had so many friends linked that had LJs, and it was easier to read them all on a friends page than it was to go to each of them individually. Well, that and maelkann wanted me to answer his polls, which you have to be an LJ user to do... ^_^ Now that I have both an LJ and a Blog, I generally update the blog and leave an update note on the LJ to inform people to visit the blog. i occasionally update the LJ, and leave a link on the blog for people to visit. Confusing, sometimes. I'm too lazy to copy and paste. Also, the lj-cut tag is very useful for posting stories and pictures and the like. ^_^

[rameog.livejournal.com]

LJ is just more sexy k?