Back home at the old front porch

[vulgarweed]

So there's a little bit of a movement afoot to get folks back on LJ for some old-fashioned posting at length and the kind of posting and discussion that just doesn't work very well on Tumblr and I'm all for it. Though I've certainly been part of the problem. Tumblr is just so easy - push the reblog button again and again and my blog is covered in smutty fanart and funny cat gifs. (No one's disputing that Tumblr excels at those forms). And there's always so much new to look at. Participating on LJ takes more work, because you actually have to have something to say. Which I often do not.

The worst things about Tumblr is that long conversations are impossible to read and follow for very long, especially because of the way they branch out. Ugh. And the lack of privacy settings irks me too. We're raising a whole internet generation who think "friendslock" is a Sherlock AU where all the characters are witty, quippy 20somethings living in improbably spacious Manhattan apartments. I love Tumblr. But there are still alternatives.

So Happy Solstice everyone! Writing recap next post.

Comments

[vulgarweed.livejournal.com]

There is dialogue on Tumblr, but to me it's really awkward and hard to follow and hard to reply to, and impossible to keep in one centralized, easily-readable place. And the tendency for high-school-level "telephone" games is off the fucking scale, in fact, it's difficult not to do that no matter how hard you try.

The two platforms have very different strengths and weaknesses. Both are useful and valuable - but I think LJ is suffering because Tumblr is so much about the instant gratification that it's very seductive. I want to keep both.