LiveJournal
1 Rating
What can you use the application for?
LiveJournal is a blogging service.
What is the history and popularity of the application?
LiveJournal was one of the first blogging services available, having been around in some form or another since 1999. It has changed ownership multiple times since, but continues to exist. At the moment it has some 15 million blogging accounts, with most being based in the USA and Russia. The idea behind LiveJournal is to take all the hard work out of running an online blog. All you have to do is create and account and post journal entries, letting LiveJournal take care of the hard work, such as server hosting and web page creation. This is ideal for an internet novice or for somebody who doesn’t have the time to invest in the more complicated side of running a blog. Each blog entry you create is posted on its own page, where users can post comments critiquing your entries.
What are the differences to other applications?
LiveJournal completes with other blog services, such as Blogger. While it may have more advertising than Blogger, it does have a social networking aspect, where you can add other blog authors as friends, but one has to wonder how useful such a feature really is in a blogging service.
How does the application look and feel to use?
The blog editing area of LiveJournal has a slightly dated look and feel, with cluttered navigation and intrusive advertising. Everything you need is there, and more, it’s just a case of finding it. The front end of your blog, front end meaning the bit that your visitors see, has a customizable look and feel, allowing you to choose from a plethora of built in templates and themes.
How does the registration process work?
The registration process is easy, although LiveJournal can be quite particular regarding the procedure. You must specify a password containing either a number or a symbol, which can be a pain if your usual passwords contain neither. You must also login with a specific username rather than your e-mail address, meaning that you’ll have to first spend some time trying to find a unique username. You’ll have to remember this username in the future in order to login, and it will also function as the simplified URL of your blog (username.livejournal.com), which you can then communicate to others.
What does it cost to use the application?
LiveJournal features a free service, giving you 1 GB of free storage. This is funded by the presence of slightly intrusive advertising on your blog. A $2 per month fee will give you an ad-free version with better bandwidth and 2 GB of storage.
Who would you recommend the application to?
If you’re looking to setup a blog and want an easy way to do it, without having to spend too much time, then LiveJournal might be worth a go.
LiveJournal Features
- Easy to setup blogging service.
- Somewhat intrusive advertising in the free service.
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