This post is in response to Lex’s comment on my last post, and the questions her comment lead me to find: “What is VOX to you? What is working for you? What isn't?”
Be warned… I can ramble.
What is VOX to you?
Well… I’m not really sure what VOX is to me yet since I’m still trying to figure out what blogging is to me. I like the idea of using a blog as a personal “soap-box” to post my thoughts , discoveries and opinions… but I also like the idea of a blog being a place to connect with and meet new people.
I have a LiveJournal account as well and it feels like a better place to be opinionated without worrying about being/feeling like someone is going to judge you. It’s a bit grittier feeling — grittier in a good way, of course — but I feel like I can share a slice of me that I might normally keep to myself. And I like that. If someone didn’t agree with an entry, they’d either say something or just dismiss it. Doesn’t matter — it’s my soap-box.
VOX has a much more community — real neighbourhood — vibe to it, which I also like. However, I feel like I would/will be much more “reserved” — less likely to open up more/entirely — here than I would over in LJ at the risk of upsetting one of my “neighbours”. I couldn't tell you why I feel this way, it’s just the vibe I’m getting… I dunno, maybe that’ll change.
So, I guess the short answer should have been…
VOX is an extremely well designed personal blogging platform that allows me to stay connected with existing friends and also allows/encourages me to connect to new ones. A place where people can get to know a bit of how I am in my day-to-day life and get into my head a little bit.
What is working for you?
I love… the design, the neigbourhood, side-bar fun, the QoTD, the accessability to other users, the invite system, the Organize section, the Explore section… Essentially, all the features work for me. It’s what missing that isn't working for me.
What isn’t?
I’m not really a fan of… the lack of “Home” button when visiting a blog, the lack of support for other video sharing sites (Videoegg.com anyone?), the lack of HTML option for posting (prefer to use Safari on a Mac), the lack of Safari support for posting, the lack of LJ cross-posting, the lack of communities, the lack of customizable privacy levels (LJ) oh right, and the new wider columns (they bug me).
I know that I’ve missed something… I wish I could think of more right now but my brain “isn’t working for me” right now… I’m sleepy.
Lex, I hope this is along the lines of what you were looking for. If not, let me know and I’ll reword and rewrite.
G’night.
—
steelie
I agree completely about feeling more reserved on VOX than LJ and I too cannot really explain why I get that feeling. There's a sense of security in LJ that I'm just not getting at VOX….
Maybe you're missing the customisable sidebar, i.e. to be able to add links of your own there. 😉
I pretty much like Vox, because I'm on Blogger, which gives me freedom, but the drawback there is that I can't filter my posts. There are things that are on my LJ and VOX that I wouldn't want to share with the rest of the world, but still would like to get off my chest with someone.
I find the sense of security between Vox and LJ almost the same to me. Of course LJ offers more on the customisable filter. The only thing bugging me on LJ is the design. I like the Vox's designs. Besides, I think LJ has become more of a private place for me that I share with only some really close friends.
steelie, really interesting. thanks.