Wow, that podcast is really something. I had an OpenDiary! And yeah, I remember people posting VERY personal things there but typically under pseudonyms and not with their real names. LJ was much more social from the beginning, connecting you to networks of people, and a lot of people used their IRL names at the start -- a lot of them had come over from Usenet, where they also used their real names (and often, THEIR COLLEGE EMAIL ADDRESSES). I loved this part
One of the key differences we saw between LiveJournal and Open Diary was what Lisa described with LiveJournal where groups of people who knew each other would use it. Sort of like how Facebook is now was much more prevalent on air than Open Diary. Open Diary tended to be more people who are posting their personal things that they didn't wanna put somewhere else. And didn't necessarily invite their friends and family to come in [crosstalk 00:12:54].
AD: Back then your friends and family weren't necessarily online?
no subject
One of the key differences we saw between LiveJournal and Open Diary was what Lisa described with LiveJournal where groups of people who knew each other would use it. Sort of like how Facebook is now was much more prevalent on air than Open Diary. Open Diary tended to be more people who are posting their personal things that they didn't wanna put somewhere else. And didn't necessarily invite their friends and family to come in [crosstalk 00:12:54].
AD: Back then your friends and family weren't necessarily online?
BA: They didn't have modems.