Tuesday, March 02, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

R-JENERATION: Getting Personal

The surge of 'blogs' takes keeping a diary to a high-tech level

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY BREANNA ZURITA/R-JENERATION

From ramblings to links, an online journal can be as diverse as the people who write in them.

Online journals are a lot like a paper journal or diary in the aspect that it can be used as a place for an individual to express feelings. The differences between online journals, also known as "blogs," and traditional journals, is that blogs can have changeable layouts and be written by more than one person. And while a traditional journal can be easily stashed in a hiding place away from prying eyes, a blog can be viewed by anyone who stumbles across it. While some allow for privacy features, in which only friends of the writer are allowed to view the entries, a lot of blogs are free game for anyone with Internet access.

So, why would anyone want to put something so personal on the Internet for everyone, even strangers, to read?

Several students, such as Durango High School sophomores Daniel Castrillo and Jennifer Nadler, keep journals so their friends can know about things going on in their lives.

Las Vegas High School senior Kristin Miller works along those same lines. Miller says she uses her journal for venting and "so my friends don't always have to ask me `What's up?' "

Though many people may have innocent reasons for starting a blog, being open with the world can be hazardous to a person. In a salon.com article, a man was fired from his job, and one of the reasons listed for his dismissal was the information he posted in his blog.

"I don't take anything I read or write seriously," says Vickie Hall, a senior at Durango. "(Online journals) cause lots of unnecessary drama."

And besides, Miller says, "no one really writes their most personal thoughts."

There are dangers to having a blog, just as there are dangers for doing a lot of things on the Internet. With people putting their personal lives out there, a crush, a nosey parent, a disliked acquaintance or a person with less-than-honorable intentions could use information from someone's journal for not-so-innocent purposes.

"I keep it down to a bare minimum," says Hall, an experienced blogger.

To be safe, one should not use his or her full name, and keep personal facts, such as addresses and phone numbers off the Web.

"(People) have to know that (others) might take advantage of that knowledge," says Durango sophomore Lisa Green.

In 2001, LiveJournal, one of many blog communities, had about 14,000 users. Thousands more blogs have popped up since, and many people have started journals on other sites, including Xanga, DeadJournal and Diaryland. Some create their own Web page and maintain a journal there.

Hall, who has kept blogs at many different sites, including LiveJournal, Freediary, Diaryland, Blurty and Scene Journal, says the appeal to LiveJournal is it "has the best features."

Clark High School junior Rey Hernandez is someone who takes full advantage of LiveJournal's features. He counts the friends' list as one of the best.

"It's where other people with live journals can add you, and you're able to read their entries from a list," Hernandez says.

Other free features of LiveJournal include entry comments, anonymous commenting, a page for all recent friends' entries, a calendar, pre-made layouts and self-made icons. Xanga has similar features, but also allows users to join blog rings, where people with shared interests can chat together.

After finding a site and signing up, where would a person writing an online journal start?

Hall says people should be open with what they want to write and jot down whatever comes to mind.

"If they want to write about their whole entire life story, they should go for it."