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Empty Noise
Mar. 21st, 2008 08:07 amOne could argue it's a side effect of being brought up to believe I am powerless in the face of those who hold the reins, but I have always taken the attitude that since LJ is on someone else's server, they can do whatever they damn well please, they don't have to listen to me--even if they claim to want my input...I've heard that from authority figures, before, and have learned the hard way many people say it just because it sounds good, not because they mean it--and I don't have to like or approve of it. If I don't like it, I can leave. Period. So when policy changes I don't think are ideal happen, I just shrug and say, "Well, it *is* their toy, not mine."
When I heard LiveJournal had been bought by foreign investors, I carefully archived my history to my home PC and deleted all highly personal posts from my blog. (I had been leaning towards that move after spending months feeling like no one was paying attention to my posts, anyway, and the sale spurred me to action.) I don't know what consumer and privacy protections their culture has, and if the LiveJournal servers ever move to their country, I could find my personal reflections being used in ways that go against my American sensibilities. Rather than screaming from the rooftops and ending up hoarse while things moved on anyway, I just deleted my stuff. If I don't feel like the site meets my needs when my paid time expires, I simply won't renew. All of the screaming and howling is just noise...and compared to the numbers of users who will continue to pay and/or visit no matter what happens, the noise isn't all that loud. If I don't post, thousands more will. If I leave, thousands more will come later. And if, by some strange chance, the site ultimately folds, the owners will invest elsewhere and continue to make money. The only people hurt will be the users who no longer have a site and the employees of LiveJournal, Inc. (i.e. the little people), not the investors and decision-makers at the top.
That is how business works.
Based on my experiences in life, I realized early on that the only way to have things exactly the way I want them is to build the environment myself. So I am not howling, and I am not striking. When I don't post or comment here, it is because I don't have anything to say that I would want the general public to read. (My decision to not post highly personal stuff means I rarely do filtered posts. I now share private stuff in private conversations, even when it comes to commenting.) If I want an online community that caters to my desires, I will get off my tuckus and build it myself. Moving to another pre-built service isn't even the answer; who knows when that service will change, too? Because no matter where you go and what claims the site makes, the bottom line is the bottom line. It is never about you or me. It is always about money. Finances will always trump feelings.
When I heard LiveJournal had been bought by foreign investors, I carefully archived my history to my home PC and deleted all highly personal posts from my blog. (I had been leaning towards that move after spending months feeling like no one was paying attention to my posts, anyway, and the sale spurred me to action.) I don't know what consumer and privacy protections their culture has, and if the LiveJournal servers ever move to their country, I could find my personal reflections being used in ways that go against my American sensibilities. Rather than screaming from the rooftops and ending up hoarse while things moved on anyway, I just deleted my stuff. If I don't feel like the site meets my needs when my paid time expires, I simply won't renew. All of the screaming and howling is just noise...and compared to the numbers of users who will continue to pay and/or visit no matter what happens, the noise isn't all that loud. If I don't post, thousands more will. If I leave, thousands more will come later. And if, by some strange chance, the site ultimately folds, the owners will invest elsewhere and continue to make money. The only people hurt will be the users who no longer have a site and the employees of LiveJournal, Inc. (i.e. the little people), not the investors and decision-makers at the top.
That is how business works.
Based on my experiences in life, I realized early on that the only way to have things exactly the way I want them is to build the environment myself. So I am not howling, and I am not striking. When I don't post or comment here, it is because I don't have anything to say that I would want the general public to read. (My decision to not post highly personal stuff means I rarely do filtered posts. I now share private stuff in private conversations, even when it comes to commenting.) If I want an online community that caters to my desires, I will get off my tuckus and build it myself. Moving to another pre-built service isn't even the answer; who knows when that service will change, too? Because no matter where you go and what claims the site makes, the bottom line is the bottom line. It is never about you or me. It is always about money. Finances will always trump feelings.
