What is Live Journal?

Live Journal Screenshot

In 1999, LiveJournal.com began in much the same way as Facebook. It was a way for high school friends to stay in touch with one another. Since then, it’s evolved into a blogging powerhouse, offering its users their own personal blog and communities covering nearly every interest and hobby. Currently, there are 44.4 million individual journals and communities on LiveJournal, and it’s growing every day.

I’ve been posting through LiveJournal since 2008, after MySpace lost its charm. I’ve found LiveJournal much easier to use. There isn’t as much material clogging up LiveJournal as there is on other websites like MySpace or Facebook.

I Love LiveJounral Because….

Here’s what I personally love about LiveJournal:

– Customization:  I love being able to design my own blog layout, choose my own unique userpics, and add videos and music to my entries.

– Community:  Currently, I’m part of 78 communities on LiveJournal offering discussions on cooking, politics, entertainment, and writing. There are even communities for people who create LiveJournal layouts and userpics to share with everyone.

– Connection:  LiveJournal is one of the few websites I’ve belonged to where I can truly say I’ve met people from every corner of the world. I’ve met many new friends in China, Pakistan and India.

– Contests:  LiveJournal offers its users opportunities to win prizes through their site, including LiveJournal tokens to use on the website to purchase a paid account, with access to more userpics or even virtual gifts they can send to other friends on the site.

Not a Big Fan of Facebook

I know there are people flocking to join Facebook, but I don’t understand its draw. I joined to stay in touch with family and friends who had no association with other sites I use. But there’s little that I can do to jazz up my Facebook the way I can with LiveJournal. There’s also a lack of privacy factor with Facebook. However, if there’s something I want to write down but not necessarily share with everyone, I can do that with LiveJournal. You can choose for entries to be public, reserved for friends, or keep them completely private. There’s also an anonymity factor — other users only know as much as you decide to tell them on your blog or in your profile.

LiveJournal is fun and free of complications. I’d highly recommend that people at least look into the website, but the best option would be to set up a free account and explore it for yourself!

Melissa currently resides in upstate New York. Her blog on LiveJournal, Serenity Now, boasts over 1,000 posts since 2008. You can find her on Twitter – @DreadfulPenny81