10112 per hour, 169 per minute
November 14, 2003 by Jane
On the right side of my journal, at the bottom of the links list, is a link to the “latest posts,” meaning each journal posted to in any given moment of time. LJ gets anywhere from 100-200 new posts per minute. It’s a bit mind-boggling.
waving to anyone who is reading this post right now on the latest posts page
Anyway, it has become a fascinating time-waster at work, reading random LJ posts from all around the globe. A great many are typed in the Cyrillic alphabet. I have noticed that the great majority of livejournalers seem to be teenagers or people in their early 20s. I wonder if LJ provides stats like that somewhere on the site, maybe in the advanced search. I bet they do.
I’ve observed that LJ posts, especially those by people under the age of 20, fall into a number of categories:
Quizilla quiz results. “What _____ Are You?” When will this fad get old? Not any time soon. Zzzz.
Lengthy slam-book style polls. “How many boys have you kissed?” Crap like that.
Depressed rants about people of the opposite sex–usually the lack of a significant other, clingy posts about missing a significant other, or rants about being treated like crap by a significant other.
Bad poetry or song lyrics.
General expressions of depression, often in short, maudlin, two-sentence posts.
Bitter complaints about parents and school, articulated in the most petulant and error-filled language possible.
Emotional vomit and rants. Drama.
Interesting and witty stories about people’s lives and thoughts (this one is infrequent).
Boring stories, minutiae, gossip, shit-talking.
Gigantic JPGs.
Hilarious role-playing journals and fan fiction/slash. The best ones have to do with characters from TV shows.
And finally: typical, engaging journal entries wherein people describe what is going on in their lives in a way that is interesting to others. Because people are, as a rule, infinitely curious about people, which is the “hook” of having or reading a public diary.
Man I am tired of those quizillas and slam books though. Yet I persist in answering the Friday Five…
WHat annoys me more than the lists and the quizes is how the content is being expressed. LJ users under 20 tend to:
1. Write sentences with terrible grammar.
2. cApItAlIzE eVeRy OtHeR lEtTeR iN aN aNnOyInG fAsHiOn.
3. say “Oh my god” and “no way” too often.
4. use flashing words.
Argh!
harsh judgments
– Depressed rants about people of the opposite sex–usually the lack of a significant other, clingy posts about missing a significant other..
– Bitter complaints about parents and school..
– Emotional vomit and rants. Drama.
– Boring stories, minutiae..
– Gigantic JPGs.
What’s it like never posting content like that? I certainly wouldn’t know. Criticism can be demeaning or constructive. I adore you jane, but you can be awfully harsh sometimes.
Re: harsh judgments
What I said was: “I’ve observed that LJ posts…fall into a number of categories:”
I was just describing the majority of the posts I see, not saying that they shouldn’t be here. Blogs just tend to fall into certain categories–and surely differ day by day. I’ve posted blogs with many of those things in them. I’ve posted to do lists, pictures, and so on.
I thought I was just observing, and didn’t mean to judge any blog as right or wrong–though the inability of many, many teens to spell or form a sentence is kind of depressing.
Check out that link some time.
Re: harsh judgments
i did click on the link. i enjoyed the randomness (if you’re referring to the latest LJ posts.)
i saw the words “lengthy, depressed, clingy, bad, maudlin, bitter, petulant, error-filled, emotional, boring and gigantic” and thought they were pretty dismissive adjectives for other people’s writing. yes, perhaps a bit judgmental. maybe it’s just me.
i am the first to bristle when people can’t speeeel or use – punctuation; or show any kind of intention or craft in what and how they write, but i hope to illustrate my points without being vituperative.
anyway, i think you are very intelligent and insightful, and i love reading your opinions. i really do. i commented because i kinda wanted to see if you could take it if you were dishing it out. you took it very well!
touché janehex, touché!
Re: harsh judgments
Also, as you know and can see from the link to you on my nav, yours is by far one of my favorite blogs, so I hope you don’t think I was somehow singling you out and took it personally.
I think had I said something akin to “these people should shut up” or “here are some lame blogs,” that would have been judgmental. Yes, people do complain bitterly. Yes, they tell boring stories. All a part of life.
I just find blogging very interesting, and the common patterns of expression I see on LiveJournal. Anyway. Sorry, Ert.