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NaBloWriMo: So why am I still doing this?
In the age of Twitter and Instagram and Facebook, it's probably fair to ask why I still consider Dreamwidth to be my primary blogging platform, and why I continue on with the tradition of posting every day in November. If past evidence suggests that a burst of writing in November doesn't carry into greater productivity in the rest of the year, if it's not about changing habits, why bother?
I have a couple of answers. One, I already touched on in my writing goals post from yesterday: tradition. I've been doing this "post every day" project in some form or another since 2006, and to my recollection I've only missed this goal twice. Tradition and ritual are two of the ways I make sense of the world, and given how much it can feel like the world is crumbing around us at the moment, I think it's important to hold to whatever stability we still have left.
The other is format. I genuinely believe that long-form writing is the medium most suited to getting across most of my thoughts. Twitter threads are fun, but they are not the best way to get across long and complex thoughts, no matter how people try. I realize this is a lost battle, so I won't fight it elsewhere, but I can at the least be the change I want to see. So although I'll sometimes toss off a thread of three or maybe four tweets, if I want to say anything more in-depth, here is where I will bring it. That's part of the reason I collect links here, too -- so I have a more permanent records of the things I've seen and shared. No website is forever, but I have more trust Dreamwidth to stick around for awhile than I do Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook. (Not to mention the various ad targeting and privacy issues.) So I don't want to lose the habit of writing longer things.
Finally, I have to mention the DW community. I've been part of this community for a long time now, and although not as many people are around as used to be, it's been such an important part of my online life that I can't imagine letting it go. On Twitter I bounce in and out, and I've largely drifted away from Tumblr, but DW is my home base. Joining![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
ladybusiness has only strengthened that tie (and brought me new friends!). I'm glad we're all still here, and I hope to be here making new friends and keeping the old for many years to come.
I have a couple of answers. One, I already touched on in my writing goals post from yesterday: tradition. I've been doing this "post every day" project in some form or another since 2006, and to my recollection I've only missed this goal twice. Tradition and ritual are two of the ways I make sense of the world, and given how much it can feel like the world is crumbing around us at the moment, I think it's important to hold to whatever stability we still have left.
The other is format. I genuinely believe that long-form writing is the medium most suited to getting across most of my thoughts. Twitter threads are fun, but they are not the best way to get across long and complex thoughts, no matter how people try. I realize this is a lost battle, so I won't fight it elsewhere, but I can at the least be the change I want to see. So although I'll sometimes toss off a thread of three or maybe four tweets, if I want to say anything more in-depth, here is where I will bring it. That's part of the reason I collect links here, too -- so I have a more permanent records of the things I've seen and shared. No website is forever, but I have more trust Dreamwidth to stick around for awhile than I do Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook. (Not to mention the various ad targeting and privacy issues.) So I don't want to lose the habit of writing longer things.
Finally, I have to mention the DW community. I've been part of this community for a long time now, and although not as many people are around as used to be, it's been such an important part of my online life that I can't imagine letting it go. On Twitter I bounce in and out, and I've largely drifted away from Tumblr, but DW is my home base. Joining
ladybusiness has only strengthened that tie (and brought me new friends!). I'm glad we're all still here, and I hope to be here making new friends and keeping the old for many years to come.
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