>>But what I discovered was that some of what I post, which is largely information-free, is actually interesting to people who are not me as well. Some of it will start discussions and conversations that--obviously--would not occur on the inside of my own head. <<
This is what *I* love about LJ. It's a place where people can read exactly what interests them, and if someone is talking about something at length that doesn't particularly interest them, they can move on. It's truly NOT personal. But it IS fascinating. :-) In a purely human-interaction sense for me.
This may fascinate me *because* I've always had strange interaction patterns. I don't necessarily enjoy the typical forms of "interaction", but I *do* like interacting with other people. In words, in writing, is my favorite way.
In LJ, I can have this open dialogue with the world, and it can be boring or not, and I don't have to care if people find it interesting enough to read every word. Like you, I'm often surprised by the journals (and which of their posts) I find most interesting to read. It wouldn't always be what I'd expect.
I have friends who are on LJ, who feel very intimidated about posting because they feel everything they have to say is boring. I always urge them to post anyway -- as far as their comfort level will allow them -- because for me, LJ is such a lovely way to just peek into other peoples lives... not in an eavesdropping, snooping sort of way, but honestly and openly, because by posting it they've invited me to see it, to see a piece of them. I can look, I can look at length, or I can nod and pass by, but I have the opportunity of seeing a slice-of-life for my friends who often live at long distances, and a slice-of-life for some acquaintances who I find very fascinating people.
So for my friends who say "the most exciting thing that happened to me last week was when I went out for breakfast, and you just really don't want to read about that", I often say "actually, what's neat is that if you posted that, I would know that you had a happy experience, and that makes me feel good, and a little closer to you."
As for posting, I go through ping pong phases, as with so many other things in my life. I'll post about everything, and then suddenly nothing. Sometimes this reflects on my mood swings, but often it reflects on sheer busy-ness. But I find even when I'm feeling unable to post, I usually make time to read or skim, because it makes me feel closer to other people, something that has been very hard for me, historically.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2008-05-09 01:18 am (UTC)This is what *I* love about LJ. It's a place where people can read exactly what interests them, and if someone is talking about something at length that doesn't particularly interest them, they can move on. It's truly NOT personal. But it IS fascinating. :-) In a purely human-interaction sense for me.
This may fascinate me *because* I've always had strange interaction patterns. I don't necessarily enjoy the typical forms of "interaction", but I *do* like interacting with other people. In words, in writing, is my favorite way.
In LJ, I can have this open dialogue with the world, and it can be boring or not, and I don't have to care if people find it interesting enough to read every word. Like you, I'm often surprised by the journals (and which of their posts) I find most interesting to read. It wouldn't always be what I'd expect.
I have friends who are on LJ, who feel very intimidated about posting because they feel everything they have to say is boring. I always urge them to post anyway -- as far as their comfort level will allow them -- because for me, LJ is such a lovely way to just peek into other peoples lives... not in an eavesdropping, snooping sort of way, but honestly and openly, because by posting it they've invited me to see it, to see a piece of them. I can look, I can look at length, or I can nod and pass by, but I have the opportunity of seeing a slice-of-life for my friends who often live at long distances, and a slice-of-life for some acquaintances who I find very fascinating people.
So for my friends who say "the most exciting thing that happened to me last week was when I went out for breakfast, and you just really don't want to read about that", I often say "actually, what's neat is that if you posted that, I would know that you had a happy experience, and that makes me feel good, and a little closer to you."
As for posting, I go through ping pong phases, as with so many other things in my life. I'll post about everything, and then suddenly nothing. Sometimes this reflects on my mood swings, but often it reflects on sheer busy-ness. But I find even when I'm feeling unable to post, I usually make time to read or skim, because it makes me feel closer to other people, something that has been very hard for me, historically.