• Mood: contemplative

3 of 3: Democracy in Content

So I started thinking earlier about LJ content. I'll admit it was sparked a bit by the previous entry, but I had also been pondering it for a while on and off. It's interesting what each person decides to use their journal for. Some people basically recite what's occured in their daily life on that particular day. For example, raanve smallvictories and quartzie fall into this category more than any other. If you read any entry of theirs, more than likely it'll be predominantly descriptive about real life events that have occurred recently. There are tangents of course and some exposition, but in the main it's pretty much the classic form of what a 'journal' used to be back in the day when people traveling would scribe down the day's events at the end of the day. I assume that's what a lot of people use their journal for but there are some other broad categories. There are the people who fill their journals with feelings. This usually takes the form of angst, but differs from the former because it deals with thoughts and emotions more than actual events. A lot more of I feel, rather than I did. Taken to extremes it becomes a pityfest or even scarier, like the person with the razor blade cutting pictures. Some people use their journals simply for quizes and pictures they find that are funny, and have very little original content. Most of it is for a quick laugh or passing interest and there's little if any commentary. Lastly, there are people who use their journal mostly for thoughts. Whether it's talking about the issues of the day or some existential philosophical crap, it's seldom not about tangiable events and the focus is on the topic or on the debate, and not primarily on the feelings.

So, not everyone falls easily into the categories. I listed a few people for the first example, but that's hardly all their journals contain, it's simply what comes predominantly to mind when I think about it. What I'm curious about is how you view your journal, into which broad category(categories) does it fall and why you use your journal in that way and not others. What type of journal do you prefer to read? Why? Do any in particular ecspecially irk you? Why?

1) Daily event recording
2) Feelings
3) Quiz/Pictures/etc
4) Thoughts
5) Creative endevors (stories, drawings, etc) [courtesy of reynardbleu]

Am I missing any broad categories that come to your mind when you think about someone else's journal?

If I gave everyone the chance to vote for content, what would you want to see more or less of? More latest posts pictures or other oddities? More entries about days at the lab and chopping up rats? More angsty feelings? More debate and thoughts about the news of the day?