January 21, 2008

• Xanga

  This is one stubborn bug. 
  It’s clinging on to my throat and sinus cavity.  My dad is also sick with a bad cold and my
  sister is recovering from a cold too.  I’ve
  finished my antibiotics but am still taking cold medication plus some Chinese herbal
  tea.  I’m feeling better.  My bf and I have tickets to the symphony this
  weekend so I’m hoping this bug will be gone  by then. 
  I think part of the problem is that I don’t get enough exercise as
  well.  I don’t think twice about working
  late and taking work home.  I really need
  to fix this part of my life.  It’s been a
  struggle for the past few years now. 

  I read John’s entry the other day about Xanga.  John actually works for Xanga so it's interesting to read a bit about what goes on behind the scenes.   Of
  course, as luck would have it, I can’t find his entry anymore.  But he started to write about Xanga and how
  different it is from other sites such as LiveJournal and WordPress.  I checked out those sites before coming back
  to Xanga.  Part of the reason is that I
  was simply too lazy to learn new things.  But I
  really enjoyed Xanga because of this sense of virtual community.
  

  I’ve come to enjoy the “regulars” who drop by
  since I’ve started my Xanga and the new subscribers who I’ve come to know.  What I also like about Xanga is the “cross
  pollination” that goes on.  I come upon
  new sites that I subscribe to by simply reading their comments on blogs that I
  subscribe to.  That’s how I came across Zsa_md and Christao408.   I’m sure most of you do the same thing
  too.  What’s also interesting is the
  sense of community isn’t necessarily generated exclusively from the blogrings
  that I belong to.

  I used to belong to a blogring for Asians something or another.  With the exception of a couple of visits, no
  one from that blogring visited my site for a couple of months. 
  Part of it was partly my fault too. 
  I wasn’t exactly very active on their sites.  But it felt like I was in this big city and
  no one really cared.  I was just another
  drop in the ocean.   

  I subscribe to about 60 sites now compared to about a hundred a year ago.  Some people have dropped off and some I lost
  tracked off during my hiatus from Xanga.   I’m sure a
  few of them don’t write anymore.   I
  sometimes wonder what happened to those that have dropped off.  People like Len_q, Hijack88, Toroboy, Jcfans,
  etc…  They were around when I started my
  Xanga and then their entries sort of just stopped.  I hope they are doing fine.   There were always a few regulars back then that encourage newbies such as myself with tips, comments and kind words.  One of those was Kelvin who some of you may remember.  He's my role model for writing and blogging.  He simply was a craftsman and I enjoyed visiting his site.  He took a lot of care with his entries and would constantly edit it to make sure it came out right. 
  

  So how strong do you feel this sense of community is?  What do you think differentiates Xanga from
  other sites? 

  • 12:48 AM
  • 18 Comments