Online Diaries: Transformation of Medium and Meaning - I begin

Will anyone care that I’m publishing a (semi) analytical paper on LiveJournal? Has anyone does this before? Am I destroying the “academic” aspect of this paper by including my own reflections on my writing process and by posting it in a LiveJournal?

Though a devoted diary-keeper when I was young, I’ve never used an online diary before. I’ve never let anyone see my diaries. To be honest, the concept of blogs and online diaries used to seem completely absurd to me. After all, I thought, isn’t a diary supposed to be completely private reflections? Something no one sees except the writer? Aren’t online diarists self-promoting, and don’t they leave out their true thoughts because they know they are writing for the public?

Yes would have been my answer to these questions three months ago, before I started a class with postliterate   . I am such a private person that even the thought of posting academic writings on our class blog made me anxious and uncomfortable. But (and here’s where the beauty of education comes in) I’ve come away with a completely different view. Sure, I still wonder why some people use blogs or online diaries the way they do. But blogging for class brings a whole new, exciting, and somewhat personal aspect to the class, and learning and analyzing online literature and blogs while simultaneously blogging as a class is especially rewarding and self-critical.

So, here I am, succumbing to what I used to consider “the dark side.” Though this is nothing too personal, I’m posting my thoughts and reflections online. Why, you ask? Well, for one, I am deeply intrigued by why so many people post journals online. As of the time I’m writing this, there have been 11, 649, 960 journals and communities created since 1999 on LiveJournal. With about two-thirds of these journals from women, an overwhelming majority from the United States (3195985), with the most coming from California, and with eighteen and nineteen year-olds ruling the age demographic of users, this makes for a surprisingly large number of LiveJournalers. And that’s leaving other blog and journal sites out. Just look at this.

Based on these numbers, I feel like these questions are begging to be asked: Why do so many people use online diaries? What does posting a diary entry online offer that keeping a private journal does not? Even more importantly, is the meaning of a diary changed when it’s posted online and no longer private, and if so, how? The more I learn about the history of diaries, the more blogs I read, and the more I post blog or journal entries, the more I see that they offer something radically new and exciting. So join me as I explore and personally reflect on the history, use, and meaning of diaries as they are transformed into the digital age.

The more I learn about the history of diaries, the more blogs I read, and the more I post blog or journal entries, the more I see that they offer something radically new and exciting. So join me as I explore and personally reflect on the history, use, and meaning of diaries as they are transformed into the digital age.

Current Location: Not telling
Current Mood: inspired
Current Music: None; I'm writing and can't do two things at once