(no subject)

[labellementeuse]

Joining in a little bit in the OMGNOEZLJISTURNINGINTO)MYSPACE kerfuffle to pass this along, through friendsfriends or something via niquaeli:

These stats show that the average LJ user is an 18-year-old girl. In and of itself, 18-year-old girls making use of this journaling service is not a bad thing. But there are certain assumptions about teenaged girls, and what they want, and how to market to them. If you're worried about the potential MySpace-ization of LJ1 and concerned that Six Apart is ignoring the more mature portion of its userbase, here's what you can do:

1) Go here and specify your full date of birth, making sure to include your year of birth. If you don't want everyone to see how old you are, make sure the box that says "show your birthday to other users" is unchecked. The important thing is to get yourself into the database. Do this for any and all LJ accounts you have.

2) Re-post this.

I will note that I'm an 18 year old girl myself, so I won't be doing this, but I know there are people on my flist who don't fall into that category who may not have seen this; and it seems more useful than petitions and so forth. Also a lot more honest.

ETA: dude, that's a perfect bell curve on the stats page. I'm not a statistics fan but I do think that's sort of pretty, but BREAK IT, guys.

Comments

[cactus-cat.livejournal.com]

LJ is turning into myspace? *oblivious*

[labellementeuse.livejournal.com]

So they tell me. :P

[cactus-cat.livejournal.com]

Is there any evidence supporting this allegation?

P.S. Down with mistaken assumptions!

[labellementeuse.livejournal.com]

Apparently Six Apart are starting something called Vox, which is supposed to be LJ for the older crowd. disturbed_kiwi linked to a petition yesterday, something like that... then there's the things like the userinfo changes, sponsored accounts, that kind of thing. I'm not too worried, but the whole age thing does seem worthwhile to me.

[cactus-cat.livejournal.com]

*follows trail of linkages* Eek.

[miriamus.livejournal.com]

I'm average!! :/



(since when....? etc, lol)

[labellementeuse.livejournal.com]

heh.

[kitsunerei88]

LJ is turning into MySpace?

Well, I guess I can't say it isn't, being as I've never been on or used MySpace. Ever.

How is it any different than LJ?

[labellementeuse.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm not a myspace user either, so I.... have no idea. I think the problem people see with whatever it is LJ is doing is that LJ has never been a targeted service: the whole point of LJ is that people of any ages can use it, it's not specifically for any one group, and so different groups can do different things with it and these are all valid uses of LJ. I'm not really sure what myspace does but it does seem to be dominated by a certain sort of people, whereas the whole point of LJ - in my opinion - is that it's not.

[dawnraided.livejournal.com]

WAIT
but...like...unless 20,000 18 year olds join, then at this time next year, there will be more 19 year olds...if you get me. :S confused

[mandor700.livejournal.com]

or if 20,00 boys turn into girls...

[dawnraided.livejournal.com]

...Good thinking.

[labellementeuse.livejournal.com]

I think the idea is that, yes, 20,000 18 year olds join; or 15,000 18 yr olds join and 5,000 leave LJ, or whatever. The idea that it's constant or something...

[melata-fic.livejournal.com]

*sigh*

I suppose we could all have a mass exodus to GJ?

I'm 20, so... don't think it'll help.

[labellementeuse.livejournal.com]

But but but. I love my LJ. *hugs it* I would have NO FRIENDS on GJ. I haven't even got a GJ!

[melata-fic.livejournal.com]

Hmm, true. But it could be a last resort, with other people switching.

You know, if they keep changing it to look this fugly.

[aim-toothpaste.livejournal.com]

As an 18 year old girl I'm somewhat insulted that we think we want livejournal to be more like myspace. If I was remotely interested in myspace, I'd join.

But I don't really care too much about the whole livejournal layout stuff.

[labellementeuse.livejournal.com]

Oh, dude, totally. I think the problem is that it kind of looks like Six Apart is trying to target... well, us... at the expense of the older users, pushing them away onto something else. Whereas LJ's always been specifically not targeted at any one group.

[bad-mushroom.livejournal.com]

Huh. I'm all for the non-myspacification of El-Jay and all, but my stats are definitely not going to help. I mean, hullo, I'm a sixteen-year-old American girl XD. That's even "worse" stereotype-wise than being an eighteen-year-old girl.

In fact, is it just me, or does anyone else find it kind of ridiculous that age (especially when we're talking teenagers) reads maturity so often? Gargh. I'm not even sure what I'm saying.

(By the by--there's your Rose icon that I meant to use in my last comment and accidently subjected you to the H/Hr one)

[labellementeuse.livejournal.com]

That's very true; stay away from the stats page. ;)

It's not just you, and I'm an 18 year old who has never so much as visited myspace and am totally not interested; and I think a lot of 18, 19, 16, 17 year old LJ users are just like me. The problem is that there are stereotypes about that age group that marketers buy into and if theyh use those stereotypes to decide the directions in which LJ should go... grr.

Maybe I should start my own campaign: 18 year old girls against Myspacification!

[bad-mushroom.livejournal.com]

How about 16-18 year old girls against Myspacification, hm? XD.

I can safely say that I've never had, or had any interest in, a Myspace account. Yuck.

[labellementeuse.livejournal.com]

Okay, I guess we can stretch to include you. ;)

I know. Ew.

[bad-mushroom.livejournal.com]

Haha, excellent.

[tisis.livejournal.com]

You know...the whole point of a statistical survey - which I'm going to say this was, given the inclusion of a bell curve - is that the sample is completely random, as in, there is no bias and therefore no external, guided influence for the results. I know what your point is, and I'm not saying it's important that it be a fair survey, but...well, it also kind of is, as inconsequential as bias would be. I mean, for you to intentionally exclude yourself from the sampling range because of wishes and desires, while advocating that people who don't meet a certain group of predetermined fill it out, is just as bad as answering with false answers. And I get that's the intent, it's just...I don't even know why it's so important to me, really. I just don't like it, I guess.

[labellementeuse.livejournal.com]

I already changed my mind and went and put myself in, because I went away and thought about it and came to the same conclusion you did.

:P