On friending, 2008 edition

[lagilman]

People are doing their damndest to drag me out and make me be Social. And I appreciate the effort, I really do. But right now all I want to do is hunker down with the felines and a pot of tea, and putter about with TPEMB. But one must be out and about occasionally, or so I am told. And there will be booze and grumping about the industy at at least one gathering, so it's almost like working.

And so, with that on my (alleged) mind, I figured I would take this moment to state/update for 2008 my position* on "Friending," for those who may not have seen Suri's Rule #2.

1. I think that "friend" is a poorly chosen term, implying an emotional connection that may or may not exist, and carries way too damn much emotional weight for some.
1a. That said, this is a friend-at-Will Lj. You don't need to ask my permission. If you want to put me on your list, list away!
2. Please don't be offended or annoyed if I don't list you in turn. My life is hectic, LJ is a timesink, and I have to be very careful about how many distractions I allow within reach.
2a. That said, don't be surprised if I happen to show up in your LJ occasionally, especially if you post here on a semi-regular basis. As time allows, I do journal-hop to places that seem interesting.


And now I must pack up and go catch a train...




*is it just me, or does anyone else flash back to the Bloom County cartoon where, on being asked to state their positions on an issue, Opus et al assumed contortionist poses? It can't just be me....

Comments

[sabriel-0405.livejournal.com]

You remind me how good the early Bloom County strips really were. That one is a classic.

[booksbynight.livejournal.com]

You're not the only one that flashes back on Opus.

And I'm in full agreement. I call it my reading list, ather than my Friendslist.

[mevennen.livejournal.com]

>I call it my reading list, ather than my Friendslist.

Much more accurate. I journal-hop, depending on time. Most of the people on the f-list are those whom I know personally and won't mind being subjected to endless tedious posts about cleaning, health or the dog. Alas, my locked entries are rarely exciting, just an attempt to spare the general public.

[booksbynight.livejournal.com]

I'm a mistress of compartmentalization, which is why I keep three blogs on LiveJournal and one on WordPress. I keep a personal LJ, a bookselling LJ [which is what gets mirrored, for the most part on WordPress], and an LJ for my partner's and my general F/SF retail business. Not to mention MySpace and other bulletin boards.

I make use of the LJ filter function to separate LJs into manageable reading lists, like "writers a to c", "writers d through f", "artists", and so forth.

Time management has been an eternal struggle for me, and thus compartmentalization is a necessary skill.

I just wish that LiveJournal would allow us to customize our profile so that those of us who WANT to call it a "reading list", or change it from "Friends" to "colleagues", could do so.

[mevennen.livejournal.com]

Yes, customisation would be good - I have just the one LJ, and it tends to be a reflection of my life as it's lived (minus the more boring bits, hopefully). But it was started primarily as a marketing and professional networking tool and has proved its worth as such. I do, in fact, keep up with a number of RL friends on it, as we all do - leading to very post-modern conversations between those of us who haven't actually seen one another for a while: "How are y - oh wait. I already know.'

[mizkit.livejournal.com]

I have those conversations, too. It's surreal. :) And then there's this sudden gap of, "Well, crap, now what do we talk about?!" before we sort of get our feet under us again. :)

[mevennen.livejournal.com]

It's probably good for us. Instead of describing our Christmas, for instance, in exhaustive detail, we can turn our attention to late Medieval art, the works of Derrida, the political situation in the Middle East.

Or more likely the weather, as usual.

[logrusboy.livejournal.com]

One of the many shortcomings of the educational system is that Bloom County isn't mandatory reading.

[lagilman]

It should be. It really should be. Although we'd have to explain a lot of the cultural references now. And nobody under 25 would believe most of them....

[logrusboy.livejournal.com]

That's okay. I don't believe most of theirs! :)

"You kids these days with yer textin' an' yer South Park an' yer holes in yer noses and whatnots! Why I remember when Bart Simpson was edgy an' con-tro-ver-shul!"

[dsgood.livejournal.com]

DeadJournal called it a Fiendslist.

[neutronjockey.livejournal.com]

Yeah,yeah I know, I know it's all business... :P

[kradical.livejournal.com]

*is it just me, or does anyone else flash back to the Bloom County cartoon where, on being asked to state their positions on an issue, Opus et al assumed contortionist poses? It can't just be me....

It's not just you. *semi-innocent whistle*

[klingonguy.livejournal.com]

I'm happy to have you my friend's list, but sadly I'm going to have to miss your GoH stint at Arisia later this month. I feel very bad about this, but the circumstances are just conspiring to keep me home. Have a great time though, and I look forward to reading highlights of your experiences on your LJ.

[lagilman]

*sulks*

(well, no, not really, but I try to make people feel missed....)

[jperceval.livejournal.com]

It's not just you. I miss Bloom County on an almost daily basis. Opus & Bill, 2008! ;-)

[logrusboy.livejournal.com]

"This time, why not the worst?" I have the t-shirt! :)

[jperceval.livejournal.com]

Love the icon!