Renewal

[mskala]

I just got the two-week notice from Dreamwidth encouraging me to renew my paid account. I'm still undecided, but for the moment I'm leaning toward not renewing. I don't think the experiment has been successful: the audience for my private writings has not materialized, and other systems are better places than this one for my public writings. That doesn't leave much value for me in having a paid account.

Comments

[love]

How would the audience for your private writings materialize if you've only posted two of three of those?

[mskala]

Why would I post more if there are only two or three readers?

I don't expect the audience to be caused or created by me, and even to the extent it might be partly caused or created by me, I'm very interested in that part of it that does not come from me. I'd hoped that Dreamwidth was building a user culture that would include a significant population of people who'd be the kind I want to address. For instance, my existing friends from other places moving here. That hasn't happened, and that's not my fault.

[acelightning]

I've got my Dreamwidth account set up to notify me via email whenever you post anything, which means that I'd read it. But, as love points out, there hasn't been much of anything to read.

[love]

Oh--so when you say the audience hasn't materialized, you were actually talking about a specific audience. My bad--I thought you were referring to not getting more readers (of the unknown or new-to-you nature).

[mskala]

Well, the key distinction isn't whether they're known or new to me, but whether they actually show up; and it's about Dreamwidth's success at bringing them in, not about mine, because I have access to my own abilities anywhere I go. I had hoped that Dreamwidth - not me! - would attract a lot of people I'd like to talk to, including both my existing friends from elsewhere, and other people like them who I don't know yet. Some such people have shown up, but it's not the case that a large number of them have shown up.

[love]

Unfortunately, DW is not really above the radar in the way that Wordpress or even LJ is. Until it is, I doubt the numbers will ever match. I suppose this means you could keep your account as a basic account and just wait until the crowd appears? Me, I'm just here because I managed to grab a kick-ass username...

[love]

And it's not even the username I _REALLY_ wanted. Had I gotten that one ("ai"), I might have paid on the spot.