(no subject)

[frelling_tralk]

Urgh I just don't get why ALL of fandom activity pretty much is happening on tumblr now, not just gifs and fan art. Old complaint now I know lol, but it's so hard to communicate there. Why can't people use LJ still for discussion and meta :pouts: Also there's no way to collect anything on tumblr because it all seems here today/gone tomorrow, whereas if say Hannibal fandom was on LJ you know there would be different communities for collecting together fan vids, recommend fics etc, instead you can't really find anything on Hannibal unless you commit to scrolling through the tags every day and seeing what you come across

Has anyone ever actually made any fandom friends on tumblr?

Comments

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

No, but I also can't fathom how to have a conversation on Tumblr. It's great for visual images, and I use it for that -- historical and alternative fashion mostly, and Tumblrs-of-friends, including some fannish stuff. It's like nobody wants to discuss anymore, just send around images. (As someone who teaches writing, I find that a bit disheartening . . . )

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

Yeah reblogging pretties is all I use it for mostly, it's just really annoying to me that fandom seems to have permemantly set up shop there. There's so much going on over there for a newer fandom like Hannibal for example, but it's all just a mishmash, whereas I could have had a ton of meta posts, fan fic, fan videos etc stored in my memories if fandom was still based on LJ :(

Some people are still writing meta and wanting to discuss shows, but for some reason they only seem to want to use tumblr of all platforms for that

[theron09.livejournal.com]

I haven't made fandom friends on tumblr either - I have some of my friends from here on there, but still tend to talk to them on here rather than there.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

Yeah same, I'm following some of my LJ friends on tumblr, but we never really communicate on there. Tumblr feels very isolating to me, most of my tumblr consists of reblogging gifs or fan art for myself that I like, but there's no real communication going on

[http://users.livejournal.com/_profiterole_/]

I still only lurk on Tumblr. It's pretty, but I wouldn't want to have discussions there. It really doesn't seem very practical. Also, I feel like some people spend a lot of time calling out other people for reasonable reasons, but also for completely unreasonable reasons, to the point that it doesn't feel like a safe discussion space to me.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

Lol yes, I get confused at how it works and who you're actually talking too when you reblog a discussion to add your thoughts. People definitely seem touchier over there too, I guess that goes along with tumblr feeling to me like more of an isolated thing of you concentrating on making your own tumblr pretty, as opposed to LJ where it generally feels like more of a group thing when you have a discussion and different comment threads?

Idk though, maybe I'm using it wrong. When I've questioned how it works and what's the appeal, a lot of former LJ users have told me that they do manage to follow interesting discussions over there :shrugs:

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

I think it's a vicious cycle, honestly. People don't meta because no one metas, and it goes on. Even a lot of fan comms really don't have it, they seem to be more "we all like this thing so we'll hang out" comms. I'd post meta all the time if I thought anyone would actually join in on discussion. :/ I love discussion. I love being nerdy and hamming up things I love. It's so frustrating to me IRL when I want to talk about a book or show with someone (or several someones), and half the time they can't bear to say anything about it other than "yeah it was good" or "yeah it sucked." That's why I got LJ in the first place.

I also think a lot of people have different lives and different reasons for posting, so to speak. I have friends who'd probably be more meta if they had time, but judging from their LJ posts, they really don't, or it's just not where their lives are at the moment. They're focused on their full time jobs, spouses and kids now. Not that I didn't know fans back in the day who juggled those things, but not everyone is willing or able to, which happens IRL as well.

Plus, I don't think there aree really a lot of huge fandoms at once anymore, which I think helped LJ. I remember when Star Wars, LOTR, Harry Potter and Buffy all coincided (give or take a few years), and even X-Files kicked HP and Buffy off - it was like this huge Big Bang of a nerdgasm. I don't get the sense there's anything like that at the moment. There's large fandoms, but not things everyone is actively talking about, which I think makes a difference.


... yeah, judging by the length of this comment, it's safe to say I miss meta. :P

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean, I don't really have a main fandom that I'm involved with the way that I once was for Buffy, and it does seem like fandom is missing that collective fandom experience. I find that there are active fandoms on tumblr, but that it's all a bit more niche? Also the problem for me there is that it seems like 98% of activity goes to tumblr, and that's the only place to find anything :( Like Hannibal as a newer fandom has plenty of activity on tumblr, but you'd be hard-pressed to find much discussion for it at all on LJ outside of the ONTD comm, it's just so unbalanced

LJ seems to have the biggest fandoms for comic-book related films at the moment I find actually, and I guess that means there's less to talk about when you don't have a new tv episode each week? It's hard to match the activity and content produced by the bigger fandoms back in the day when a franchise is only producing one film a year

[shapinglight]

I can't be bothered with Tumblr. I tried, but it bores me rigid. I know LJ is pretty much irrelevant fandom-wise these days, but in some ways that suits me. I'd rather have all the arguments and brickbat throwing going on somewhere I can't see it. ;)

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

I find that I am using tumblr more lately for reblogs and it's fun enough, I just get bitter when I see a lot of discussion for fandom going on and it's such a pain to try and follow and scroll down through all the notes, why can't we have the word-based part of fandom somewhere a little more sensible!

[in-the-bottle.livejournal.com]

Yep. I hardly ever post anything original on tumblr, just reblogging pictures and gifs etc. First of all, its due to the fact that everything there is just PUBLIC, and if I do post anything about my life, fannish or RL, they're behind a locked post on LJ/DW.

The other thing is the whole inability to actually have a proper conversation on tumblr, like you said. I haven't actually met anyone new there, there are people I follow there who are long time LJ/DW friends, or people I met in RL fangroups who I added (but we tend to have actual conversations on the FB group), and there are a few people I don't know who added me and I STILL don't know who the hell they are after so many months. Oh, and lets not even get into the whole issue with changing names on a whim. There are people there who I know in RL but have changed their tumblr names so often that I have no idea who they are online any more. Blegh!

*bitter old fandom queen*

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

:nods: Occasionally I get "followed" by someone on tumblr, but there's definitely no easy way of then communicating with these people and getting to know them. I mean I'm the same way in that I don't bother communicating with the people I follow, I just follow whatever blog that catch my eye, but it seems like it would be a very lonely fandom experience if LJ went down tomorrow and tumblr was the only way left to do fandom :(

[sometimesartist.livejournal.com]

Not really... because Tumblr doesn't really lent itself to having a conversation. I stalk some people but I'm always intimidated when it comes to talking to knew people there. I mean I kinda talk to one new person but mostly because she's friends with my bestie and we interact on Twitter but not really Tumblr. Also because it's a much more open and public forum I don't really feel as comfortable about opening up to people there. I like that LJ gives you a real sense of having a conversation in a semi-public forum if you protect your entries.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

I stalk some people but I'm always intimidated when it comes to talking to knew people there.

I know what you mean, there do seem to be some people on tumblr who can get people talking with them and sharing questions, but then I'm intimidated to talk to them lol. And that's mostly because from my (possibly warped?) perspective they seem like kind of a big deal if they do get that level of interaction on a platform like that, while I feel like a lot of us on tumblr are just posting into the void

[sabotabby]

I've had people add me through fandom-type stuff and used it to kindasorta keep in touch with people, but mainly I seem to make fandom friends these days by posting in AO3 and then people ask what my Tumblr is. (And are then no-doubt disappointed because I'm a fandom dilettante and mainly post political things and cat pics.)

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

I get added on occasion on tumblr, but I can't say that I've a conversation with any of those people, honestly most of the time I look at their tumblr and wonder what the appeal of mine was as we seem to have totally different interests

[bogwitch.livejournal.com]

I lurk on Tumblr and it seems everyone is whinging about how useless it is to talk, but there's no inclination to move. I assume it's because most of the newer fans are there anyway as they are younger and that's where they expand their networks. It's frustrating.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

It is very frustrating when LJ is all set up and waiting for people who do like posting meta and having more involved discussions, but yeah fandom seems very much rooted to keeping everything on tumblr because that's where all the people are?

[denorios.livejournal.com]

I don't communicate at all on Tumblr, I just use to reblog pretty pictures. I don't get how it can function as a community or as a means to make friends. I don't understand how you can have a conversation in any kind of understandable cohesive comprehensible way! The only friends I have on Tumblr are people I know already through LJ. And I can't even imagine how I'd begin to find something specific, like a specific fic or discussion thread.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

I don't communicate at all on Tumblr, I just use to reblog pretty pictures.

Same mostly.It's just not a community to me. it seems so vast and hard to stand out in, even if you do put a lot of effort into writing out meta and responding to people?

And I can't even imagine how I'd begin to find something specific, like a specific fic or discussion thread.

Yeah that's frustrating to me, for example if I want to search for Hannibal fan video's there doesn't seem to be any tags for it on tumblr to find them, whereas on LJ we would have had individual fandom communities for collecting fan video's that you could search through and very easily find what you were interested in

[infinitewhale.livejournal.com]

I finally managed to successfully drop tumblr. It's just... It's an echo chamber. No one seems to want discussion, they just want people to agree with them and if you disagree, it's an attack. They want the attention, but not the criticism that goes with it. I mean, maybe it's just me being jaded, but a lot of the anonymous questions seem to obviously be the person talking to themselves, then the flock comes in and clap at the response.

The whole dynamic is just so inhospitable for actual discussion and it seems like it's attracted the passive-aggressive element that's kinda turned it into a parody of itself. As you said, a venue for people to see who can prove they're more socially aware to the point where it only stymies. Then they're laughably sexist and racist in the same breath.

[eowyn.livejournal.com]

All of this!

[verdande-mi.livejournal.com]

I do not understand how actual communicating works on tumblr, so no I have not made any friends over there. I just reblog the pretty and if I see a meta or discussion I think might be interesting, I usually scroll past because tumblr just does not lend itself well to such things. Without a proper comment feature, I do not really see how it can work.

I do wish there was more activity here, but I am glad I have an active flist now, but I would love more meta and discussions instead of mostly squee.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

Yeah I can't complain about how active my flist is, but I do miss those bigger discussions that used to happen on LJ

[eowyn.livejournal.com]

I find Tumblr incredibly frustrating, and go there only for the pretty pictures. I hate the way "discussion" takes place and I don't know, maybe I'm just older now, but it feels like such a petty, small, mean little place, not unlike being back in high school.

I initially went there as that was where the fandom for my fic was. People were nice, but for some reason, they hung out on Twitter? Which is just as difficult to communicate with! And they were so CLIQUEY. Some of them were absolutely horrible about the story I was writing, ONLY because their friend was also writing in that fandom, and they were nasty about any other fic in that small fandom not written by their friend.

So I didn't stay. I went, "hi, not for me" and left. I continued to write, but only post links on Tumblr to my fic which I hosted on A03 instead.

However, I made a few friends there. One actually is adapting the fic I wrote for her uni film project, and we talk now and again. Another I met, but I sort of knew we'd be uncompatible as rl friends and I was right, we slowly stopped talking; and a third omfg. I LOVE HER. We met in person and I knew it would be amazing, and we're still talking and good mates.

So basically, after investing a lot of time integrating in Tumblr I discovered that it was just too weird and made me feel old and I really only came out of it with one friend.

I still visit and reblog and use the hell out of tags so I can find things on my own bloody blog, but I don't even try to make friends.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

Yeah I don't even know how you would go about making friends on tumblr, it definitely feels very high school. It's always a bit jarring for me when I'm following a blog, only to realise that the user is only about 17, but then that seems to consist of most of the user base over there! I mean nothing against teenagers, but it makes me feel kind of old and weird for hanging out on their blog y'know? :P

[ellensmithee.livejournal.com]

I've made a few friends there, but mainly by contact through PMs.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

Hmm I've never really tried using PMs in that way, do people contact you first, or do you PM them?

[livejournal.livejournal.com]

Hello! Your entry got to top-25 of the most popular entries in LiveJournal!
Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in FAQ (https://www.dreamwidth.org/support/faqbrowse?faqid=303).

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

I'm mystified by tmbler.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

The mass exodus of fandom to using tumblr for all fandom-related content certainly mystifies me

[penderies.livejournal.com]

Nope, I just use Tumblr for pretty pictures. :p

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

Heh, same mostly ;)

[profshallowness.livejournal.com]

Here via this being in the top 25 LJ posts. I chose not to set up a Tumblr account because, although I'll visit if someone links to something pretty and relevant to my interests, I feel mainly capable of expressing myself online via text. So it never appealed. Plus it does seem difficult to find stuff, as other commentators have expanded upon or, more pertinently to me, to protect yourself from spoilers.

As for meta, I'm more jaded than I was, I suppose, but it is frustrating that LJ/DW aren't as active as they were.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

That's true about spoilers, it does seem a bit of a free-for-all on tumblr. And yes, I feel like I'm not really expressing myself at all on tumblr. I'm not artistic, so all I'm mostly doing is reblogging other people's work, my tumblr really says nothing about me or my personality

[stolenglimpse.livejournal.com]

I use Tumblr for The Sims 2 only. I have a few followers but no friends at all.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

Tumblr does seem to be more about attracting "followers", rather than making friends :/

[rustydragonfly.livejournal.com]

There has to be some weird irony about this being a top post...

Also this, just because I saw it this morning: http://erinptah.deviantart.com/art/Insightful-Character-Analysis-from-Tumblr-Dot-Com-548288061

I JUST WANNA LIKE MY SHOWS, TUMBLR.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

Eek, that makes me glad that I only hang out on the outskirts of tumblr and miss most of the drama! People could be a little bit like that in the early days of the Buffy message boards actually when it came to personal attacks over fictional characters, then things got a lot more civil when fandom moved to LJ and there was more of a respect for other people's space, maybe it's all shifting back again :(

And posts on tumblr do seem to get a lot of attention and ranting on LJ :P

[mfirefly10.livejournal.com]

I only just recently joined Tumblr but yeah...I don't get how anyone makes friends over there. I mean, I know they DO but I'm not sure how it happens. I have two or three people I talk to semi-regularly over there through ask-box questions and the like, but one of them is someone I was already friendly with and the other two aren't quite at the friendship level yet. Maybe someday?

If you don't mind, when I log into tumblr later day, I'm going to start following you :)

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

Of course, just be prepared for a lot of X-Files, Buffy, and Farscape reblogs *g*

[velvetwhip.livejournal.com]

I think tumblr is horrible. I only retain mine because, frankly, you need to have one for entering contests sometimes. Otherwise, it's useless. People are mean because they can be and no one is friendly because you can't make friends there.


Gabrielle

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

I have mine mostly because it's something to pass the time with online now that LJ is quieter, but I definitely don't get any kind of friendly community feel from it :(

[12-12-12.livejournal.com]

Why can't people use LJ still for discussion and meta

I try, bb. I try. LMAO.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

I always enjoy those entries of yours, they give me a lot to think about :)

[firebunny.livejournal.com]

I feel like Tumblr and LJ are completely different beasts. I don't think one is better than the other, just different.

I agree that Tumblr isn't good for discussion. LJ's much better for that. Even though I'm not commenting on each individual thread on this post, I can read them and follow that discussion. On Tumblr that would be very time consuming and not worth the effort at all.

I also agree that Tumblr isn't conducive to making friends. When I think about the people I get "chatty" with online (and recently I've been getting chatty mostly on Twitter) it's with people I met through LJ, even people I met recently through an LJ Outlander Comm.

But it's so easy to disseminate things on Tumblr. I see something on Tumblr I think my friends would like I reblog it. On LJ I would have to link to it and write something up about why people should go look at it. So much work and I'm sooooo lazy.

Also, the tag system on Tumblr makes it really easy to search for something. I catch an episode of some new show and really like it. I search the tag on Tumblr and find gifs and fan art, maybe some short meta or fic. Even tiny fandoms are easy to find. Last year I became obsessed with the Kushiel book series. I posted about it on LJ. None of my flist had read it so there wasn't really anyone to talk to about it. I can search the Kushiel tag on Tumblr and, although I still can't get a discussion started, I can find people who are as unhealthily preoccupied with it as I am. Also someone drew a pretty picture and I love it.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

Tumblr definitely has its uses, I just wish that it wasn't misused so much with nearly all fandom activity now *only* going there, you just can't talk in the same way on an image-focused platform that is not designed for two-way conversations

And from my perspective LJ is actually much better for sharing something, because if someone on my flist finds an interesting link and mentions it on their LJ then it's highly likely that I'm going to stumble across said link, whereas with tumblr it's very easy to miss half of what goes on there unless you're tracking your dashboard very closely. I can't keep up with the activity in the same way and find that it's a lot easier to miss things

Searching tags is your best bet for tumblr and smaller fandoms these days, but it used to be like on LJ once upon a time if you searched here for that fandom and communities related to it :sighs:

[bm-shipper.livejournal.com]

I don't even have a tumblr account. Really. And I don't plan on getting one anyway... Never been a fan of this site and never got the big fuss... oh well :D

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

I've got one and find that it has its entertainment value, it's just frustrating that so much of fandom seems to base everything there now