Journal host refocuses, redesigns
15 JUL 1999 10:21 PST

The creators of MyDearDiary, which bills itself as "the web's original interactive online diary community," have renovated their site, beefed up their system and plan new features as the free journal site's popularity continues to grow.

"We now have a much more reliable web host and have written faster, less tempermental code we haven't lost an entry in months, knock on wood that allows users more flexible search options," said site producer Mark Toussaint. "We've also added an e-zine that will eventually be weekly, and will be adding an advice column within the next few weeks."

"We're really happy with the way it's shaping up," he said.

The site, based in Dover, New Hampshire, is home to over 1,300 diaries. It offers an easy web interface for both reading and posting entries, allowing authors to share their lives without having to fumble with code. Another site, The Open Diary, offers similar features, and boasts an inventory of more than 8,000 journals.

Jeff Olivier, founder of MyDearDiary, said he was surprised at just how passionate the site's users turned out to be.

"We always knew that MyDearDiary would be a popular site," he said. "Unforeseen, however, was the incredible level of interaction that takes place between the diarists and the phenomenal loyalty of the readers."

"The evolution of MyDearDiary from simply another site on the Web to a true online community continues," Oliver added. "In joining both to share the human experience ... we have created, together, a unique and valuable resource."

'Burbs keep coming
14 JUL 1999 03:43 PST

The summer heat seems to be driving cyberjournalers to build 'burbs by the bushel, leaving link wranglers breathless with the relentless updates.

Last week, Amethyst announced Not Exactly East Coast, for journalers lost in the Mid-Atlantic region the nebulous part of North America that's neither the Midwest nor the East Coast. The 'burb specifically lists sites by diarists in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware, and the District of Columbia.

The Dog Lovers' 'Burb was launched on Sunday. "I felt left out being a dog lover, finding that there was only a cat lover 'burb," said founder Stasi. "If your dog and your journal are your best friends, too, the three of you should be here!"

And today, Meg unveiled The Bookworm 'Burb, for journalers whose lives revolve around the printed page.

'Burb fever shows no signs of abating. Hawaii diarist Mary Mak, inspired by other anatomically derived 'burbs, is considering starting one for journalers who feature nude photography and another for those with huge heinies. And Carole is about to open a 'burb listing journalers by the color of their eyes. And she said it will include pictures of the eyes in question.

"There are burbs everywhere and I want one too I'm jealous," Carole wrote, explaining her unusual idea. "We all have eyes, but we rarely get to see each other eye to eye."

'Unreal' site casting for new journalers
10 JUL 1999 03:43 PST

The producers of The Unreal World have turned to the online journaling community at large to find a new slate of people to kick off its new season. The effort comes as four of the site's original ten writers from last year have left or disappeared.

"This time we want to take professional web journalists and bring them all together," a recent recruiting letter read. "We're looking for those entertaining people with content, ideas, and 'real' lives.

"For the third season, we have an entirely new look, and feel. Even a new server. We'll have a virtual house, with different areas. Different moods. We'll have an interactive forum, and daily doses of news and gossip."

The site aims for a higher degree of authenticity than a certain MTV television show, says Unreal World creator Michael Kraabel.

"I don't mean to sound skeptical, but it does seem kinda odd that everyone [on MTV's 'The Real World'] always gets along, with perhaps the exception of my favorite cast member, Puck," Kraabel said. "So, this is what we're going to do: we're going to create The Un-Real World, a totally internet based living environment."

Kraabel envisions a site where eight real people from around the world will share their lives as intimately as roommates, with the added benefits of an online venue.

"They interact, read each others journals, comment, and have discussions they write about their true selves and not about some fantasy life that you may see on television, or in the movies," Kraabel said.

Informal applications are being accepted by . Later, the final candidates will be put up to a public vote.

Diarists agog over tale of two Amys
7 JUL 1999 14:06 PST

They say hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Make it two women with online journals, and you've got something that makes hell looks like a Gymboree. Two diarists both known to some as Amy, living miles apart but bound together by one man have taken their catfight to the web.

In one corner, Elizabeth Badurina, prominent San Diego diarist and multiple Diarist Award winner. In the other, Amy, the author of the defunct journal Silently Screaming. The trouble began with the same event that led to the creation of Badurina's current journal, Atropine: her husband David left for New Jersey in January and never came back. And weeks later, he was living with Amy in New York.

Badurina describes the break up as a pivotal moment in her life, and there was no shortage of regret and resentment in her writing. In addition to learning about her spiritual rebirth, regular readers became very familiar with David's new life, and Amy's part in it. Amy said it was this relentless hostile narrative that prompted her to convert her site into an extensive hypertext rebuttal.

"I have gotten sick of seeing my name on her page, and I am beyond sick of seeing David's name thrown in, in the middle of lies," Amy wrote. "Everyone needs to vent every now and again this is my way of venting."

Amy's site is extensive, going into extraordinary detail about her own background, her relationship with David (and their sex life), and even reviews what she calls "outright lies" scattered throughout the history of Badurina's journal. Her site drew some immediate criticism, however, as it posted some personal e-mail messages and other non-public correspondence.

On July 6, in response to Amy's site, Badurina made what she promised would be her last entry in what she characterized as a "pissing contest."

"Whoever's reading can make their own decisions as to right or wrong, and it's pretty obvious to people who don't have warped values, what happened," she wrote.

"I thank her in all her flawed logic and twisted morals for doing what she did," she continued. "I probably never would have gotten out otherwise. I was so far gone, willing to give up even the basest parts of me, for the approval of a man who had fucked around on me once, and was flying to Ossining to do it again."

Even Amy's site has its reflective moments.

"We have more in common than I think she realizes Both of our names are Amy Elizabeth... both of our mother's names are Nancy... we are both Cancers.... we both were once actresses and singers," she wrote. "Is it any wonder we fell in love with the same man?"

Burbs for beach bums, boobs born
UPDATED 15 JUL 1999 00:13 PST

Two new journal 'burbs, or topical journal lists, were announced today on Diary-L. They are Highway 101: The California Journals and Breasts of Doom.

Highway 101, founded by San Diego journaler Elizabeth Badurina, links cyberjournals by people in The Golden State. While there are only nine sites listed, many more can be expected. That's because California is home to more online journalers than any other state. The Diary Registry lists nearly 150 sites in California.

Breasts of Doom is somewhat harder to explain. Founded by Mar (aka Bellatrix), the 'burb is "for anyone who feels like they've got Breasts of Doom, or maybe even breasts of impending danger."

"Breasts don't really own us, but sometimes they do seem like a major focus," Mar writes. "We will be doing collaborations on boob related topics, like people who talk to your chest instead of your face, reduction surgeries, finding bras that fit, cancer, etc."

Mar is quick to say that having monstrous mammaries is not a requirement to join, nor is being a woman. Indeed, the burb has already inducted its first male member: 20-year-old Joshua Doolittle of Fairford, England.

Birthday brings 'baby' to journal site
2 JUL 1999 22:13 PST

Purplegoat, an eclectic web community, turns one year old on Saturday, and its members are celebrating the occasion with a purple bundle of joy.

"We have decided that on our birthday, day of days, we will actually open babygoat, our psudo-zine," said Purplegoat member Alisa Perne. "It isn't meant to be serious in fact if you don't find humor ... we just aren't doing our jobs."

Purplegoat launched July 3, 1998 is home to two general webrings and several online diaries. In addition to Perne's norain, the other journals hosted there are On My Way by Lin and Brighter Insanity by Corvin Carlton. It also houses the archives of Vanessa Love's discontinued Daily Rantings.

The premiere issue of babygoat features a handful of pieces with titles like "what gets my goat" (Love on butterfly fashion) and "bleating moments" (Carlton on music, not wrestling). A contest to name its mascot is also underway.

New journal sampler planned
UPDATED 30 JUN 1999 13:04 PST

Finding diamonds in the rough may now be a little easier with the upcoming launch of 30 Days, a journal sampler. Although it won't officially open until Thursday, July 1, there are already several submissions listed.

Each month it lists sample entries from dozens of online journals, both well known and obscure, as chosen by the journal authors themselves," explains Georgina, who founded 30 Days with Stacey.

The project was inspired by The Journal Collection, by Mark Bridgeman. It has been inactive since February.

New site trades journal links
22 JUN 1999 18:07 PST

Detroit journaler Apryl Cheree last week launched LockedDiaries.Com, a "diary listing site." There are already 14 sites linked, and anyone with an online journal is encouraged to submit their URL. Cheree only asks for a reciprocal link in exchange for a listing on her site. Future plans include an interactive forum and a reader-chosen "Journal of the Week."

"I have found that writing a journal, as well as reading others is a very inexpensive type of 'therapy,'" said Cheree, a lifelong journaler but a newcomer to the web. "I am having a lot of fun with this project, and I think it will grow rapidly."

Chatty diarists convene on IRC
21 JUN 1999 9:17 PST

Fiona, a diarist in Belfast, Ireland, has spearheaded the birth of a new IRC chat channel for online journalers. The server is irc.starchat.net and the channel is #journals. As there is no regularly scheduled time to meet as of yet, a corresponding notify list for spontaneous chat sessions was also created.

"I thought it might be a fun alternative forum for some of the more riotous posting that goes on in [DIARY-L]," Fiona wrote.

IRC, or Internet Relay Chat, is one of the oldest forums for online interaction. Although originally conducted through cryptic UNIX terminals, many modern clients exist for both Mac and PC platforms.

Metajournals poised for rebirth
18 JUN 1999 05:15 PST

Metajournals, a 'zine focusing on online journals, has found new management, new direction, and is ready for a new look.

The site originally launched in July 1998 to great fanfare, including positive mentions in Wired News and Yahoo! Metajournals featured both point-of-view and how-to articles and an extensive collection of links. Earlier this year, however, its leadership was in flux, and as a result the site began to languish, much to the dismay of many web diarists.

Fortunately for them, veteran journaler Gabby Hon made a successful bid earlier this month to adopt and revive Metajournals. Hon, who was the site's original designer, has ambitious plans for it.

"Metajournals 3.0 will focus much more on the 'meta,'" Hon said. "We're going to delve into topics that have long been flash points on discussion lists and in personal entries issues that get right to the heart of what being an online journaler means."

"In addition, we're adding a new level of interactivity to the site, which we think will compliment lists like DIARY-L and [journals], while being much more public."

Hon has kicked off the reorganization with a design contest. "Members of the online journal community are invited to submit site designs for Metajournals," she said. "The winner, to be announced on July 12, will see his or her design used for Metajournals 3.0 and will be awarded a $75 gift certificate to CDNow."

Several diarist gatherings planned
UPDATED 24 JUN 1999 11:00 PST

After a particularly chatty morning on DIARY-L, six different journalers in six different cities are organizing informal IRL (in real life) meetings:

• Mary Ann Brunson Mak Honolulu, Hawaii
• Elizabeth Badurina San Diego, California
• Erin Dallas, Texas
• Nanette Chicago, Illinois
• Eileene Coscolluela New York City, New York
• Josh Doolittle England

The New York City Online Journal Reading will feature entry readings by diarists at a club or cafe, according to Coscoluella. The Hawaii gathering, by contrast, will likely be a leisurely afternoon at the beach. Details are forthcoming for the other meetings, and will be tracked by Diarist.Net. For the time being, interested participants should contact the appropriate journaler.

In the wake of these regional gatherings, preliminary discussion has begun on holding a large, all-inclusive convention of web diarists next summer. Among other things, the first-of-its-kind "JournalCon" could include panel discussions, seminars and special presentations, and most importantly social events.

Journalers rally around desert phone booth

13 June 1999 (DNN) -- About 75 miles southwest of Las Vegas sits a curious artifact known as the Mojave Phone Booth. And while it has been sitting out in the desert since World War II, thanks to two online diarists it's finally getting its day in the sun. California diarists Chuck Atkins and Steven Amaya made a spontaneous pilgrimage to the phone booth on May 23, and things haven't been the same since.

After dialing the phone and finding it busy, Atkins and Amaya figured it was off the hook and plotted a mission to go out and hang it up. They drove for five hours, traveling 240 miles before reaching the booth, located on a dirt road twelve miles off I-15. Although it turned out to be broken, neither considered the trip a bust. "Now that I’m home again, slumped back into the quicksand of everyday life, the memory of this odyssey of idiocy puts a grin on my face and a spring in my step," Atkins wrote. "I don’t regret it for a second."

Indeed, it was only the beginning. The tale of their trip prompted another California diarist to write a tribute in the style of Hunter S. Thompson, and inspired Andria Fiegel Wolfe and her sister to plan their own visit on July 1. The pair's expedition was featured yesterday in a BBC Radio Scotland broadcast, and the site was chosen as a Yahoo! Cool Pick of the Week.

The online adventures surrounding the Mojave Phone Booth actually stretch back to the summer of 1997 when Godfrey Daniels read about it in an obscure band 'zine. After calling the phone daily for a month, he finally made contact with a woman named Lorene on June 20. The rest is history, and Daniels' site documents a series of shenanigans that include finding satellite images of the booth and a contest to find a "pool" friends buried nearby.

The phone, which has apparently been fixed by PacBell after repeated calls from its many new fans, can be dialed at (760) 733-9969.

Journal enters third round

11 June 1999 (DNN) -- Ohio diarist Carol has unveiled her new journal, Suicide Blonde. It is the third incarnation of her site, previously "Gentle Asylum" and "Presents of Mine." Carol has kept an online diary since March 1998. "Redesigning this journal has been very exciting and rewarding yet it has also been a tremendous amount of work and frustration," she wrote. "But basically I am feeling very comfortable with the new layout and look and the title. It feels more sleek and dynamic and more me." Carol credits fellow diarist Eileene Coscolluela (aka Iko) for helping with some of the design.

Diarists also known as...

10 June 1999 (DNN) -- Beebop? Chemo-girl? Even web journalers who readers know on a first-name basis may be known as something else. Continuing the recent storm of new diary 'burbs categorized lists of journal sites Hawaii diarist Mary Brunson Mak has founded nicknamesgalore! Members reveal their sometimes unwanted aliases and their sometimes embarrassing origins. How Meghan became 'Meg' may not be much of a mystery, but how did Corvin Carlton become 'My Wonderful'? "It's the name that my friend Nessa gave me because I'm the most wonderful friend she's had," Carlton explains. "So she calls me My Wonderful."

'Burbs busting out all over

9 June 1999 (DNN) -- Quick on the heels of the birth of Non-Pussies, four other diary 'burbs surfaced today. Utah diarist Heather has started the Mountain States 'burb for journalers in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico. (Heather also runs the Cat People 'burb.) Additionally, Chicago diarist Nanette announced on DIARY-L that she would be starting three 'burbs: for people who use WYSIWYG web page editors, for journalers in the Windy City, and for journalers in the Midwest. As the pages are still under construction, interested diarists should contact Nanette via e-mail.

Journaling couple enters parenthood

7 June 1999 (DNN) -- Chicago diarists Dustin Vannatter and Sena, 20, last week celebrated the birth of their daughter, Alise. "Today today today is my due date," Sena wrote on May 28. "Ahhhhhh baby, if you don't come out within a week the doctors are making you come out!"

Hardcore coders link up

5 June 1999 (DNN) -- If you're journaling with WYSIWYG, what you see is worse than you deserve. So says California diarist Meghan Kelly, 20, founder of the Non-Pussies diary 'burb. Drawing from Open Pages ringmaster Kymm Zuckert's trademark tagline, the 'burb lists jounalers who design their web pages completely by hand. FrontPage and PageMill users are verboten, the list limited mostly to people who use the simplest of text editors, like Notepad or SimpleText. One of the most complete list of 'burbs, or categorical journal lists, can be found in the Diarist.Net Links section.

Son joins mom in online journaling

2 June 1999 (DNN) -- Readers of Carole's A Journal of Sorts can now get a new perspective on her life in Dallas, Texas. Carole's 17-year-old son, Daniel, has started his own web journal, My So Called Life. Daniel's journal came online May 26, and has seen daily entries in its first week of life. "There is something about Daniel, some special bond that he and I have," Carole recently wrote. "Our thought processes are similar to the point that we often say the same thing at the same time." Carole, 48, has been journaling since January.

Award winners named

31 May 1999 (DNN) -- The winners of the first-ever Diarist Awards were named today. The Diarist Awards are given to web journalers by web journalers, recognizing the best of what the blossoming genre has to offer. The winners were determined by an open vote after finalists were selected by a nine-member panel.

Two diarists won more than one award: Atropine by Elizabeth Badurina for Best Writing, Best Design and Best Entry, and Squishy by Pamela Ribon for Best Comedic Entry and Best Guest Entry. Kymm Zuckert, author of Hedgehog Tales and Open Pages ringmaster, was inducted into The Diarist Awards Hall of Fame for her contribution to the journaling community.

The Diarist Awards are given quarterly. Nominations for the next round will open in mid-June with the winners to be announced August 28, 1999. In response to participant feedback, the award calendar will be adjusted to allow more time for nominations and voting.

Web-based e-mail for journal writers

29 May 1999 (DNN) -- On the eve of its first birthday, Diarist.Net has introduced Diarist.Net Mail. It's a free, web-based e-mail solution that allows you to send and receive e-mail through your browser from anywhere in the world. And with a "diarist.net" address, you can share with the world your love of journalkeeping. The new service, powered by BigMailBox.Com, proved faster than Microsoft's Hotmail™ in tests, and also supports attachments.

Diarist.Net was established in June 1998 as a starting point for both readers and writers of online journals. It features a variety of weekly features written by a dozen international volunteers, and is home to The Diary Registry, the largest directory of cyberjournals on the web.