Dissolution

[darkemeralds]

Is anyone else trying to re-figure out how to have an online life? Is anyone else feeling that Google+ is cool but how many more social networks do I need? Does anyone else wonder if there's still a place for a journaling site like Dreamwidth and LiveJournal in their life?

I'm finding G+ very homey--more succinct than here, not quite as flighty as Twitter. Less conversational than here, but more interactive than Tumblr. It feels like a comfortable stream of connection.

Of course, it's new. Not many people are on it yet. Everyone's behaving like early guests at a nice party, so it's also much less contentious than here tends to be sometimes. (I have invites, by the way, if anyone wants one.)

Journaling/blogging has been a mostly wonderful experience for me for the past six years or so, but I feel it slipping away as a concept. I hate to let it go, but fighting the flow seems futile. Does anyone else feel that way?

Comments

[jumpuphigh]

Well, I have no expectation of privacy in anything I do via Google. I do use Gmail and Google Voice because those are great services that I can make work for me. I just don't use them for anything that I'm not willing to have shared with the world. And since I use those services, and would like to continue using those services, I'm not willing to sign up for a service with them where if I go afoul of their unclear policies, I will lose access to everything that I currently use. I also do everything I can to keep my information from search engines but it looks like using Google+ will eventually make my public profile (required by them) part of their search results. Plus, I have problems with any service that requires me to use my legal name. (Check out googleplus for tons of links, including lists of reasons why this is a bad policy.)

This pretty much sums up how I feel about them data mining.

[darkemeralds]

Thank you. Extremely informative and thought-provoking.

[bluemeridian]

I would have to second this line of comments - both the different services for different purposes and taking Google with a hefty grain of salt. I use gMail and gReader extensively, but I'm not comfortable with the direction that Google is taking as a company right now. I'm sticking with them because there simply isn't good alternatives for me to jump over to at the moment.

Having said that, there have been a number of times where there was a thought in my head that I wanted to share, but it just seemed too short and abrupt for a whole post, which I don't have the time or desire to sit down and write just then. I realize some people post that way, but it just isn't my style. Of course, when I do go to write a post then either I forget about it or it doesn't fit into what I end up talking about, so I just leave it out. At this point I wouldn't say that I've found my most comfortable collection of services, although DW/LJ is definitely part of it. FB is necessary to me because of some people that I would otherwise lose contact with (and who are not geographically close), plus it lets me link them to posts I've cross-posted to Blue's Garden (non-fandom posts, basically). I've fiddled with Tumblr, but it hasn't grown on me yet, mostly because I have to jump through too many hoops to make sure something is properly attributed to its source.

I will say that my little network collective does include Delicious, which not everyone might think of that way. But that's how I find a lot of recs and how I help put the word out about ones I like.

[darkemeralds]

Thanks for the thoughtful reply!

I'm giving serious thought to my use of Google Docs after reading through responses here and elsewhere. There are other cloud spaces where I can write (cloud computing is very valuable to me both for backup purposes and because I migrate among several devices and need access to my stuff no matter which one I'm using). The incredible convenience of Google makes switching a huge chore that I don't have time for--it synchronizes my contacts and calendar across platforms, and keeps all my stuff for me in a single accessible place. But Now I'm wondering if I was smart to let that happen...

Dreamwidth continues to be a haven of freedom of expression, and I don't see myself leaving or giving up my paid account anytime soon, but, like you, I don't always have something blogworthy to say. Back when I started, it was perfectly acceptable to make a very brief, fly-by post, but it seems almost rude to do it now, because that's kind of what Twitter and G+ are for.

Everything's in flux! I will say this: one of my very favorite social networks is Ravelry. It's absolutely brilliant, and I've spent many, many happy hours there.