LJ?

[ironphoenix]

I've stuck with LJ for a lot of years now; I don't really do much on GooglePlus or LinkedIn, and I'm not even on FaceBook, Tumblr, or Twitter. Yesterday was the Church's " 48th World Day of Social Communications", celebrated on the occasion of the memorial of St. Francis of Sales, patron saint of communicators. Pope Francis' message has a paragraph which expresses what I want to see more of again here in LJ-land:

It is not enough to be passers-by on the digital highways, simply 'connected'; connections need to grow into true encounters. We cannot live apart, closed in on ourselves. We need to love and to be loved. We need tenderness. Media strategies do not ensure beauty, goodness and truth in communication. The world of media also has to be concerned with humanity, it too is called to show tenderness. The digital world can be an environment rich in humanity; a network not of wires but of people. The impartiality of media is merely an appearance; only those who go out of themselves in their communication can become a true point of reference for others. Personal engagement is the basis of the trustworthiness of a communicator.

Most social media encourage shallowness; I hope to keep more depth here.

Comments

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

LinkedIn are unrepentant spammers, aggresively sending bulk commercial email to non-subscribers. As such, LinkedIn are assholes and people who use LinkedIn are assholes. So you should not feel bad about not using LinkedIn, and you SHOULD shun and punish people who use LinkedIn because LinkedIn are spammers.

For the rest, I can't really help you: The main thing about livejournal (even more than G+ or Twitter) is that the more content you add, the more responses and reactions you get. And there's a critical mass of responses past which the responses themselves produce more content.

[ironphoenix.livejournal.com]

I've had a LinkedIn account for a while, but it really doesn't seem to be terribly useful for much... it feels like a business card swapping party with no real engagement.

I've never been a big note-taker or diary-keeper, so regular blogging doesn't come naturally to me. The consistent absence of visible response here to the reflections I post is also a bit discouraging, although I know that some of that is likely due to the fact that most of my connections on here are uneasy about discussing Christianity in that context for lack of shared basis.

[xiphia.livejournal.com]

Some of us also don't like replying to public posts. :p

Yeah I have issues with religion. I have a lot of respect for the current pope though.

[ironphoenix.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the whole public vs. private question is one I ponder pretty much every time I post something, even a games day announcement.

I like this pope, and I am heartened by the fact that even with a very conservative-seeming College of Cardinals, he was nevertheless elected.

[beable]

LinkedIn is one of the few aspects of Not-Beable e-mail that remains consistently unfunny because of the persistence of their spamminess exhortations that "it isn't too late to sign up".

And unlike phoning John Hopkins to "update" "my" alumni info, there is zero amusement to be had with the stupid repetitive LinkedIn reminders.

(And because I do glance at my spam folder to catch false positives, repetitive spam from "legit" sources still bug the hell out of me even if it's in my spam folder).

[peristaltor.livejournal.com]

Depth. It's needed. Well put.

[ragnhildr.livejournal.com]

I also appreciate LJ for the potential for depth, at least.

I have been remiss of late. I have been reading LJ, but not posting much, even to respond to other posts. I hope to do better.

[ironphoenix.livejournal.com]

Well, there are sometimes Reasons...

[khall.livejournal.com]

As a former communication major, I have to say...all media are value-equal. There's definitely some situations where one form achieves a specific purpose better. A picture is worth a 1000 words, a hand-written letter from mom goes straight to the heart, etc. But...all values, beyond that, on communication are purely cultural. A screen is not innately inferior to a book, or a video, or an audio file or a scroll, for that matter. They're all just data. People who put extra value on out-dated technology worry and concern me. I like books. I love books. I like a book I can touch and feel and pick up and lay down and carry around. A e-reader doesn't feel the same. However, that's purely personal. Reading 'the classics' or the bible, for that matter, on a kindle isn't any different value-wise. Same data, same transmission method.

K.

[ironphoenix.livejournal.com]

It seems to me that media influence communication, in terms of what's expressed, by whom, and how it's received. This is admittedly psychological and cultural, but no less real for that. Online culture since AOL has far too often disregarded the humanity of those on the other end of the wires.

[khall.livejournal.com]

Eh, the first post-Gutenburg press books were generally salacious, gossipy and/or pornographic. There are reels and reels of film, pre-film standards committee of naked women bathing or dancing or dressing.

By which I mean...AOL was a pit of kindergarten-level conversation. Yes. However, places like LJ or forums or MU* can, and have been for me, places to seriously connect with others. The 'whole' internet is not like that. Just like all movies aren't about sex, and all books(printed materials) don't have naked pictures, or talk about Paris Hilton's sex life.

If you go to a juvenile place, on the street, you will hear swearing, and in general, juvenile conversation. If you go to the debate club at harvard, you won't hear penis-size or mother's sexual prowess discussed as much.

I'm not really disagreeing with you, in case that's not clear. Just...making a sideways point. If that makes sense.

K.

[ironphoenix.livejournal.com]

Oh, I quite agree that all media can be used well or poorly. And I didn't take you as disagreeing with me, but rather as starting a conversation along a tangent.

I certainly "get" connecting via online media... I met my wife online, through Usenet, before the WWW really went public.