So Blogspot is starting to grow on me.

I've got to admit, this is a nice change after spending all of my blogging time on Friendster.com and MySpace.com. There's more of an emphasis on external appearences at those sites. And with good reason, I suppose - Friendster and MySpace make it a priority to emphasize the social networking, which is great when you're looking for a way to keep in touch with a circle of friends.

And when you're looking to make new ones, of course. *winks* So I've never been able to shake the "dating game" feeling when I try to blog my way around those sites. You spend your time dressing up your profile in pretty bows and musical tassels, piling on the custom HTML to make it as original as possible. And hey, I had fun doing it. There's a sort of right-side-of-the-brain stimulation in making the "Internet You" pop and flash on the home screen.

But my point is that I feel like Friendster and MySpace are more about how you look and sound in an ADD-minute. And it's less about what you really have to say, because in my opinion the meat and potatoes of online networking sites are found in the weblogs. Down in the trenches, ya know, esse? This is where you can really get to know a person (to the extent that anyone can really know anyone else through this opaque medium). This is where the connections are made, because if someone is willing to read through and comment on your 3-page spiel on the evils of bratwurst, then you've got something going. And you can be a tad more sure that they aren't wasting your screen space because of that hot picture you posted in your profile.

What really got in my britches was the fact that only people who created Friendster profiles could comment on the blogs themselves.

Blogspot, on the other hand, let's anyone comment. And that brings me to the central point of this rant: the more I browse through the multitude of blogs on this site, the more it feels like a place where people care more about what you say (or rather, write), than how many "friends" you have linked to your network, or how cute your profile is, or if you're interested in meeting up for lunch in Real Life. Friends with benefits over coffee, or maybe more.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not standing on a soapbox here and thumping a Bible. Friendster and MySpace cater to a crowd that's looking for those things. And that's cool. But Blogger, well . . .

. . .the peeps here seem to care more about the thoughts behind profile. And that, to me, is keepin' it real. I'm sure LiveJournal is much the same way.

So yes. *looks around* I like it here.

I think I'll stay.