Poll

[ash48]

Just curious (even though posting it on LJ will skew any sort of "real" results. Though I am hoping to entice some tumblrites to answer also).

I'm thinking about this because I have noticed a lot of LJians migrating to tumblr and it makes me wonder if that's because it offers a more rewarding fandom experience than LJ. For me, it's LJ. I enjoy tumblr but I can (and did!) go days without visiting it, but I can't go a day without checking into LJ.

[Poll #1944482]

I consider "rewarding" to mean where you get the most pleasure. Perhaps your "go to" fandom place. The one that is most satisfying as a fandom hangout. The one you feel most at home or perhaps the place you feel you belong.

Comments

[raloria.livejournal.com]

I like Tumblr, but it's not my first love (heh). That's reserved for LJ which is where I feel most at home and feel more a sense of community and fandom compared to Tumblr. For me, Tumblr's fun, but it also tends to be a bit unhinged at times - where spoilers and opinions can run rampant along with emotions. Sure, we get that on LJ as well, but it feels more subdued and under control here.

Tumblr's great for gifs and eye candy and quick posts, but LJ is more open to meta and deep discussions and for me - more human connections in fandom.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Oooh, good way of summing it up. I am curious when people that I know (who are into discussions and that human connection) have completely moved over there. They post thoughts etc but I feel like the response must be difficult to manage. I dunno. It's why I'm curious.

Eye candy for sure!

[de-nugis.livejournal.com]

I shouldn't express a firm opinion, because my exposure to Tumblr is fairly minimal, but my impression is that for the visually oriented Tumblr is superior, that LJ tends to be cumbersome for people dealing primarily with images.

On the other hand, for people who want tl;dr text, extended conversation, and archiving, LJ is still where it's at. A lot of people notice the problems with Tumblr as a conversation platform and work around it, or so I am told, but I wonder if the archiving thing isn't most important. Of course, people can put fic on AO3, but when I think of how I got into Spn in the second half of s5, and how possible it was to go back to the beginning and get a large part of what I had missed, not just fic but fic, meta, images, discussions, all interconnected and findable, I just can't imagine how that's going to be possible for anyone in the future.

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

That's an interesting point I hadn't considered but is linked to one of the problems I have with the site (ie navigation and finding things)... mmm.

[linvro21.livejournal.com]

I like the sense of community on LJ much better.
Tumblr is just there to get lost in when I'm really bored...

[ash48.livejournal.com]

It is a nice place to get lost in. I agree the community here is better, but I wonder if that's just because we haven't worked out a way of feeling it there. People who live there might feel the opposite.

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Tumblr frustrates the hell out of me. I love finding pretty pictures on there but it annoys me that I can't then easily tell the artist or whoever how much I like their work. I fail to see the point of posting fic or meta or anything longer than a paragraph on there as it is just not the right sort of format for longer pieces of text - plus there is the fact that you can't give or receive feedback.
I haven't found any sense of community on there because most of the 'conversations' I've seen happening on Tumblr seem to be largely rants and wank. Overall the level of maturity (and I don't necessarily just relate that to age) is low.

I find it depressing because when I do venture over there, I see that there is a considerable number of people who are using it more and more, and feel I will be missing out - but as I find navigation yet another issue with it, even if I was to migrate there I'd be no better off. It is a black hole that sucks you in.

[raloria.livejournal.com]

It is a black hole that sucks you in.

Haha! So true! When I do check out Tumblr (which isn't every day like I do with LJ) it's easy to get caught up in looking at things. Much like Youtube I can easily lose a an hour or two on Tumblr. "I'll look at just a few more posts and then quit..." Yeah, right. :P

[cassiopeia7.livejournal.com]

Not a fan of Tumblr. It's pretty to look at, I give it that, but if you want to have actual conversations, it's useless. And it's not for "readers" at all. :( LJ is much more rewarding in that aspect -- conversational back-and-forth AND pretty pictures. :)

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Agreed! I actually see a lot of fic recs on tumblr - often links leading to LJ or A03. I can't reading any fics actually posted there. I don't see that many, but when I do I don't even consider reading it. Mostly because if I don't know the author I don't :"risk" it these days. I have too much to read on LJ!

[colls]

I often forget to go to tumblr for days because I'm a spoilerphobe who just can't get to the episode for a few days (RL). So then I get out of the habit. I went there much more during show's hiatus

[ash48.livejournal.com]

The spoiler element of tumblr is unfortunate. I've had to become less of a spoilerphobe since being there. I rather like that tumblr just keeps going (as in stuff I've made might continue to be reblogged) without me even being there for a few days.

I find myself there longer during hiatus also.

[galathea-snb.livejournal.com]

I have to say that I find them equally rewarding, but I use them for very different things. I use LJ primarily for meta and discussions; if I want to talk seriously about my shows, LJ is where I go. Tumblr, on the other hand, is a visual medium for me and posting gifs/art there is very rewarding. It has the kind of instant gratification that you don't get on LJ. There is no experience like a gif of yours spreading like wildfire through the Tumblr community. For me, Tumblr is fast food, designed to give me short burst of pleasure, while LJ is a delicious homemade meal that lasts for hours. *g*

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

That's a great analogy! I guess I haven't got tasty enough snack to offer the greedy Tumblr masses...

[counteragent.livejournal.com]

A lot of my LJ friends with social anxiety moved there -immediately- and have not returned. I know they like the less-pressure to interact thing but I miss them.

Fandom is nothing to me without community. I love the source, yes of course I do. But that's not enough to make me fannish about something. Squee unshared is squee lessened for me.

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

YES THIS!

[antrazi.livejournal.com]

I don't know if I'm just to old for Tumblr (32, practically geriatric) but I only go to there on occasion for the pics. I would never have the idea to try to talk to anybody and let's not even beginn with trying to find anything.
For pics and gifs it's a nice thing, for reading fics I like AO3 the best (in particular long fics) but as an actual place for Fandom I prefer LJ

[ash48.livejournal.com]

LOL 32 old (wait till ya reach your 40s!). But I hear ya, it certainly feels like a younger person's domain.

I've found tumblr more rewarding since I started making things and posting them there. Seems I need to be an active participant rather than a passive one.

[counteragent.livejournal.com]

Another thing: I think tumblr is fine for interaction if you already have a set of dedicated tumblr-active friends or if you're tumblr famous. I have neither really so for me it's limited.

Also there's no decent way to make a vid post (mixed media) which as a vidder drives me INSANE and I think has contributed to the Death of Vidding Outside YouTube.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

The embed for vids seems to work ok - but yeah, that still relies on YT. I tried posting to the tumblr vid format but it's useless.

I think tumblr is fine for interaction if you already have a set of dedicated tumblr-active friends or if you're tumblr famous.

Yeah. The only people I have actual connection with are people who are hear anyway. though it's been nice to see some gif sets I've made get lots of notes. That's been rewarding. Though also weird because anyone liking or reblogging something you've made pass it on because someone they are following has passed it on. So the creator seems to be removed from the process. Once it's out there, you have no control of it. I both like and dislike that.

[destina.livejournal.com]

I love Tumblr, but that's because I don't want to talk to anyone there. I just want to reblog and look at pretty pictures. I don't want to interact. For that, I come to LJ. I get 90% of the current fandom news on Tumblr, tho; generally I hear about/see things there long before they show up on LJ.

It's also easier to be multi-fannish on Tumblr, without having to go to a whole lot of effort. I have so many interests in fandom that this is a beautiful thing, for me.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

I actually really like it when I don't want to talk to anyone. I find it rather liberating in that respect. If I post something there I let it go and and strangely not bothered whether it takes off or not.

Great point about the multi-fannish aspect of it. I've also discovered that there are many things that I had no idea I wanted to see. Until I see them. It's made me more in tune with what's out their in pop culture land.

Cool icon.
xx

[geckoholic]

I really don't think it's comparable. I spend more time on Tumblr than on LJ by now, but that's partly more about the people than the site? Okay, no. That sounded wrong. In certain fandoms (SPN, Pacific Rim and related actors, Star Trek) I have more like-minded people on Tumblr than on LJ. That changed things for how I use the sites, of course.

The site I use most often and most regularly by now would be Twitter, though, I guess, lol.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Thanks for sharing this. I was curious to know how you see it - and it makes sense. I think when some LJ fans discovered an aspect of the show (or a show) that their current flist wasn't into so they could solve that by finding people on tumblr. Or twitter. I love twitter for updates and for getting a vibe about what's going on out there. I don't always go there, but when I do I enjoy it.

Thanks hun.
xx

[kiscinca.livejournal.com]

I voted It depends what you are using them for. I have account at both and check them daily, I think they both have their ups and downs.

With Tumblr it's great to post your images/gifs/art and you can even post vids, which is great, but for conversation/discussion or fic posting not so much. Text formatting is a nightmare with the text post and replying or commenting to posts is impossible unless you install some comment system, like Spoiler.tv has, or even if you allow replies it's only for a limited time.

In short it's great for art/pics, vids and even short posts or even a bit longer ones, certainly better then say Twitter, and getting notes on your posts is rewarding. Also a great thing is that sometimes you end up finding rare things and there surely is lots of pretty pics and all to look at.

But as a community? Not so much. Searching is barely workable and it's easy to miss things, especially on popular tags, you can get lost for hours. Interacting with each other or hold in depth discussions? Next to impossible. Not to mention, as others mentioned, emotions and opinions run rampant and it can make one feel easily offended with having everything shown in your face.

LJ, I have been here since 2008 November, well I had an account earlier, but didn't know how to use it and I came here for this fandom specifically and found some great friends so I think it will always hold a special place for me.

With LJ it's definitely a lot more text and interaction friendly. You can set the security (public/flocked/filtered) of your posts, comment, join comms or send messages etc...

You can easily format your posts and hold in depth discussions and a good way to archive your fics or post metas and it has certainly more of a community feel. It's really rewarding to have comments on your posts and get to talk to people and actually make friends on the web, or in real life, in your fandoms.

But if you're more artsy, like me, posting pics can be a hassle and you have limited amount of space if you upload to the scrapbook. I actually prefer to use Tumblr to post and store images at now. Also some of the updates tend to mess things up, like I had my masterpost on top screwed up for awhile and had to reformat the whole thing, not to mention the DDOS issues.

And I got too wordy again didn't I? To sum it up, Tumblr is better for art and liveblog/insta reactions, while LJ is better for fics, long meta and formatted posts and actual discussions I think.

ETA: Now that I think about it, the change of social media and fandom along with it is something I find rather interesting as a topic.

When I first got into fandoms, I remember these badly made geocities and various fansites, when I got into SPN I remember the message boards then LJ, now everyone's at Twitter/FB/Tumblr and maybe LJ. The flow of time is indeed cruel I guess.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Yeah, both places seem good for particular things. No doubt tumblr brings the pretty. :))

I agree that the change in social media and the way fans have used certain sites to base their fannish activities is interesting. I actually wonder if some day a format will be created that incorporates the best of both LJ and tumblr. It would be hard, but it might be possible.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
xox

[jessm78.livejournal.com]

I kind of have a love/hate relationship with Tumblr. I've noticed it's usually one of the first places I can find con pics (well, besides Twitter) and people do post nice art there, but.... well the format can't compare to LJ. I think Tumblr is best for posting graphics, but for discussion and fanfic, LJ definitely wins out. Plus (and this is just a personal pet peeve) I find that most of the people I see on Tumblr are the screaming fangirl type, which grates on me after a while LOL.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Yeah - I tend to agree. I like the immediacy of tumblr but I couldn't post something like this there (or any of my discussion posts for that matter). I try to keep detached from the drama that some posts create (though they are entertaining sometimes…;D)
xx

[fufaraw]

I originally established my Tumblr as a non-fannish space. The blurb on my page says, "Tumblr is my balm for the abrasions of life," and I should probably go change that. It was originally a non-verbal space for me, just photos of beautiful things and places. It's become a sociopolitical space now as much as one of visual beauty, and I do sometimes take a step back and consider a *second* Tumblr reserved as just a visual haven.

Fannish content came last, through the quantity, quality, and shared experience of fandom spilling into a new venue.

That said, LJ has always been my fannish space, and given the choice, I would much rather experience fandom here. LJ is home in a way Tumblr (or FB, or Twitter, or AO3) can't be. Tumblr's more a visual space, it doesn't adapt itself as easily to discussion as LJ post-and-comments-and-repost does. I could very easily give up all fannish content on Tumblr for a resurgence of energy and participation in LJ.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

You post the most beautiful images. I love them, and they are always a welcome break from all the celebrity and show stuff. I love that too, but it's nice to see the imagines you find. <3

I recently created a fannish FB, but it means logging out of my RL one and relogging in and I mostly couldn't be bothered. Is there good stuff on Facebook? Anything that's different to tumblr, twitter etc?

[the-muppet.livejournal.com]

LJ is the place I love most and I too check it every day, no matter how quiet it's become =)

*hugs*

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Oh me too. It's quieter but there's still stuff going on (in the SPN fandom anyway), which I'm happy about.

*huggles*
xx

[electricmonk333.livejournal.com]

It's an artist's haven which LJ never really has been. So, for that, it is perfect. It's also designed for something else, so it's a little like comparing apples and oranges, I think. Personally, I caved and went over only when I realised lj is dead. Almost none of the people I am friends with post anything any more on lj. I have made a number of friends (some of whom I am going to meet next year in DC) over on tumblr, so for me, it's more rewarding than lj as it stands.

Times change and one either goes with the tide, or gets left behind be it in real life or online. That's my take on it anyway. :)

[ash48.livejournal.com]

so it's a little like comparing apples and oranges, I think.

Yeah. They are designed for different things, but they are also fandom spaces so I'm interested in how they compare in terms of where to hang out. And I suppose it depends on what you want from a fannish space. I also suspect that people that have been around tumblr for a long time have worked out ways to make connections that some of us newer ones (like me!) haven't been able to establish.

I also created an account over there - mainly because, as you say, times change and I didn't want to "miss out". But I don't consider LJ quiet dead just yet. I think it does fulfil a need that tumblr doesn't (mostly the ability to hold threads of conversation).

Great to hear you are going to be meeting some friends from tumblr (is that the tumblr convention that I've seen mentioned?).

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[greyowl88.livejournal.com]

lol about Sorry what? fandom is rewarding? I missed that memo. :P

I'm not on Tumblr, so I clicked that. :)

[ash48.livejournal.com]

ha! I think sometimes people find fantom stressful and not all that rewarding…so I had to include that one.

*hugs*
xx

[scarletscarlet.livejournal.com]

If this had tickyboxes and not radio buttons, I'd pick "It depends" and "You can't compare".

Tumblr is low pressure and quick and always public; the like button gives you a way to acknowledge without interaction if you're not feeling the words today; you *can* interact (asks and fanmail for direct engagement with individuals, posting/reblogging with or without major tags to join a wider conversation), but it's definitely harder to have a group conversation in a format that doesn't include threading.

It's heavily visual and artist friendly, though there are plenty of text posts going around and I've read some good stuff.

I have more multifandom friends on tumblr, though I think I'm only following one individual with whom I wasn't already LJ/DW friends. My own tumblr is awash with all manner of non-SPN stuff, because it just feels less like I'm spamming people with bumf if it takes everyone a few seconds. Or, heck, there's always tumblr-savior to block stuff one genuinely isn't into. My blacklist is pretty long :).

At the moment, my unread LJ posts notifications folder is pushing 200, and catching up with that is going to take HOURS - a lot of that is going to be discussion and fanwork etc, but it's not like no one ever uses LJ to post a picture of X and say they're pretty :). I find that when I'm having a bit of an, uh, a mental health time, shall we say, tumblr is an easy way to still feel connected to friends and fandom without having to do something as overwhelming as open a comment box.

My dash is pretty contained, though, and I almost never venture into the major tags, so basically all the wank skims by - but then, that always was the same in LJ, too, and I'd hear about some major fandom blowout by checking out fandom_wank every now and then, having seen not a whisper of it.

I don't know if you can as easily have a massive echo chamber on LJ as you can on tumblr, just because all it takes is adding a popular tag to take your conversations to a wider audience. You can certainly have private versions of that, though :)

Heck, for pure "pleasure", the most fun I've had has been in LJ's anon spaces, whether that's kinkmeme or other, riffing ideas with random people or indulging the id to a rather large degree :).

BAAASICALLY, the content is more skewed to the visual, but ultimately I find it's not the content that's different (fic, art, meta, etc, all there, all comfortably on par with the best and worst of LJ), it's the use. Structural and functional differences that have an effect, but it's still all fandom.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Hey there,

Sorry no multiple options (I always get confused with which ones you can have multiple choice on. I thought it was the radio buttons.../o\)

Thanks for your thoughts on this - that's interesting. I agree about tumblr being good for those moments when you don't want to interact.

I haven't been about to work out tumblr saviour (I really need to make for of an effort to figure it out). Though I've found the "ignore" option pretty useful once I see people posting stuff I don't want to see.

Structural and functional differences that have an effect, but it's still all fandom.

Yeah, Great point. Thank you.
xx

LJ vs Tumblr

[pagerunner.livejournal.com]

Tumblr makes me sad in that it doesn't have a comment section. No one answers your post- they either like it or reblog it. So I miss feeling that contact and conversation.

On the other hand, I find Tumblr very satisfying for what I use it for- a dashboard full of moving pictures of Winchesters. I mean, that's why I watch the show too.

Re: LJ vs Tumblr

[katwoman76.livejournal.com]

Hehe, I didn't see your comment before posting my own. Great minds think alike?

[katwoman76.livejournal.com]

For me tumblr is a place to look at pretty pictures and get lost in that - no real interaction happening (for me). I only go there once in a while, not really regularly. But I have a look at LJ every day. That's where I actually TALK to people and read fic and commentaries and personal stories and so on.
The tumblr system doesn't really do the trick for me (or maybe I just don't get it).
e.g. I can just comment here and you see all the comments in a nice compact way that you can easy follow and reply to and so on.
On tumblr, I would have to respond by reposting. Others do the same, the discussion gets split up, the responses get lost in the list of <3 posted as well and it requires a lot more clicking and builds a lot more frustration for me if I actually want to follow a discussion, so I usually don't.

Also - although this is a minor point. So many tumblrs I see have really annoying layouts, where you barely find a way to go to the next page and half the space is not used/only showing some background. Things like that tend to get on my nerves very fast.

LJ is home.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

*nods* I started to work out how to change my layout etc, but then I lost interest. I make stuff and post it (which I enjoy) but it's hit and miss. Sometimes things take off, more often they don't.

I do like getting lost in things over there sometimes. Just not regularly.

xx

[lacylaces.livejournal.com]

Tumblr eats up your data like crazy. So if you have limits you should avoid using it on your phone if possible.

[marinarusalka.livejournal.com]

Definitely LJ for me. I just can't figure out how to connect with people and have conversations on tumblr.

I think, however, that hosting the poll on LJ is going to automatically skew your results.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

Hey,

Yeah, hosting it here definitely skews the results. And in fact, I would be absolutely sure that more fans find tumblr more rewarding (or easier to use, or more fun etc.) than L (considering how many fans are on tumblr). I am particularly interested though in the LJ fans who moved to tumblr, or hang out in both places.

[sorchasilver.livejournal.com]

I see them as totally different experiences which are rewarding in different ways. LJ is my fannish home, but Tumblr and Twitter and the AO3 etc have replaced some of the functions it used to have. I still do all the same things, but now different interactions take place on different sites. I resisted Tumblr for a long time, but in the past few months I've come to appreciate the low-stress option of just admiring the pretty pics when I'm not in the mood to engage much.

[ash48.livejournal.com]

The low stress option of tumblr seems to be one of its most popular features. But it's a good point about each place fulfilling different needs. I can see that for sure.

[tebtosca.livejournal.com]

Tumblr can get off my damn lawn

[ash48.livejournal.com]

ha

I think it likes lawns