yourOtaku

[James]

[color=#B0251E]So, I was thinking about blogging in general today. I saw a news report on CNN about it and I realized that the media seems to be very interested in this phenomenon right now.

Many of you are probably myOtaku members as well as being OB members. One thing I find interesting about myOtaku is that a lot of people who hadn't been using blogs on other services (ie: LiveJournal, Xanga and so on) had still decided to start a blog on our own service.

I found it interesting because I've never been able to maintain a blog elsewhere, but on myOtaku, I've maintained a blog for quite a long time now. That led me to two lines of thought: Why myOtaku? And also, why blog in general?

So, I thought I'd create a thread dedicated to both myOtaku and blogging. Why not give us a link to yourOtaku and tell us a bit about it? Maybe you can share your blogging experiences and explain why you blog in the first place.

[url="http://www.myotaku.com/users/james"]myOtaku.com: James[/url] is my page. Some of you who know me visit it regularly and others of you may have seen it in passing.

Originally I wanted to use myOtaku to kind of get the ball rolling and to show people what they could do on their pages. In some ways I think I'm still doing that (with help from Aiyisha and her master coding prowess). I like the fact that maybe I can show people something that they hadn't thought of and they can try it out on their own pages. Or perhaps just seeing something different will spark an idea.

I mostly use my page to talk about site and network-related stuff. I do sometimes include information about my personal life, but I tend to be pretty guarded about that online in general. It's interesting, because I've always considered a blog to be a regular type of diary - something related to your personal life. Although I do discuss things that happen in my daily life, I mostly enjoy using myOtaku to post my thoughts on a variety of subjects (again, mostly site-related).

But I have noticed that people use their pages for many different things. Some (like [url="http://www.myotaku.com/users/panda"]Panda[/url]), not only include information about their daily happenings, but they directly involve visitors by posting questions and by talking directly to people who are visiting. I think that makes her page entertaining as well as being a place for her to muse over whatever is in her mind at the time.

So, why do you use myOtaku? And why do you blog in general?[/color]

[AzureWolf]

[COLOR=blue]At first, I just joined because it was something OB-related. I really didn't know what I wanted to do with it, so I just wrote whatever I felt like writing. Later, I thought I'd be writing about touchy topics and the like, with my own opinions and linking places like mad. Why? Because one's opinions might be interesting to other people, and linking to places will give those not familiar but interested on a topic to get things rolling.

However, that's not how things turned out. The blog is just about me. I'm not that defensive about personal information, as only one person online knows my real name (the Uchiha, if you are wondering), and one other person thinks my roommate's name is my name because I gave them his campus address and so they traced it, thinking they could get my name by doing so - but I don't live on campus... :animesmil

Moving on, I just found that I could write very personal material without worry, as very few people I know IRL are aware that I have this blog. Admittedly, I'm not as personal as I am when I write in my actual, Indiana-Jones-style diary, but that's just for the sake of those who read my blog: I'm not going to get mushy or write something very discomforting if I don't think it'll be recieved well. Rather, I consider what's interesting and omit what is not.

For instance, my current crush is on this "red-eyed girl," which has been both a pleasing obsession and a maddening distraction. While I write about her in both my journal and myO, I don't mention things like the disturbing (but not perverted) dreams or how I've actually lost my resting perspicacity when she's around (i.e., "How did you do on the test?" "Oh, I did - what? What were we talking about?"). Those are trivial details that I try to leave out to keep my entries as short and entertaining as possible.

I don't know if I succeed in that respect, haha, but that's what I aim for. But give it a whirl for those who don't know about it. [url=http://www.myotaku.com/users/azurewolf/]Not a Girl's Domain[/URL]

Blogs are different from journals. While I personally don't think either is going to replace the other, I see the importance of both. There's just a nice dynamic to be had from an online blog, as you interact with others instead of just yourself. But that's ironically the appeal of a personal journal: it's just you, heh. Anyway, I've noticed a lot of buzz around blogs and how important and powerful they are becoming.

I even read that there have been quite a few who gave up literally their day jobs because they believe their fanbase will support them, and that what they have to write is something worth devoting eight hours a day to. O_o I'm not disagreeing, but that's quite a brave front some people are venturing towards![/COLOR]

[Manic Webb]

I didn't have a blog before myOtaku was created. When it was, I decided to sign up simply for the sake of signing up. If I remember correctly, my first entry was (as expected) me announcing that I have a blog. My second entry was a song parody about blogging, done to "Frontin' " by Pharrell Williams.

From then on, it was just the occasional ramble about what was going on in my day. After a while, I found that I could write [i]other[/i] things. It started with a few reviews of CDs I had bought. Then I was accompanying the rants about my days with the funniest quotes I'd heard anyone say that day. I also started to come up with some top-10 lists.

Then on one fine day in June, I decided to start reviewing old cartoons that fit within a similar genre. I named this series of reviews [i]The Cartoon Chronicles[/i]. The first part was "Teen-Sleuth Toons," where I named off and reviewed 8 different cartoons about meddling kids who solved mysteries. After that came "Super Madness," which were reviews of superhero cartoons. Then after a brief hiatus came "Educatoons," for educational cartoons. I've pretty much dropped the format after that, and have gone back to complaining about my day.

I consider it a nice writing exercise, as well as a way to vent and entertain.

It's interesting that something like blogging has become a news medium, especially since independent news on the internet has always been questionable.

[Bloodseeker]

I really don't have anything to write down, what with my life currently being the same thing day in and day out. Otherwise, I might've started a blog when I made my myotaku account.

I'll probably just use myotaku to post reviews.

[Shinmaru]

[quote name='AzureWolf][COLOR=blue']At first, I just joined because it was something OB-related. I really didn't know what I wanted to do with it, so I just wrote whatever I felt like writing. Later, I thought I'd be writing about touchy topics and the like, with my own opinions and linking places like mad. Why? Because one's opinions might be interesting to other people, and linking to places will give those not familiar but interested on a topic to get things rolling.[/COLOR][/quote]

That's pretty much how I went about it. I joined myOtaku because it was something new and OB-related. I also figured that I wouldn't have much trouble finding friends, or anything, since there would be plenty of other OBers joining up. I'd tried blogs before, but they failed miserably, since I have next to no dedication.

When I first started, I just wrote whatever. My posts mostly followed the basic blog line of "This was my day - comment on it!!!!!" except without the comments. I had never really cared for writing a journal at any point in my life, so I was just testing the waters with those first few entries, I guess. All I know is that they were lame (though maybe my entries are still lame, I don't know!).

[b][url=http://www.myotaku.com/shinmaru]Condemned By the Space Pope[/url][/b] - This is my site right now. Mostly I just write whatever is on my mind at the moment, but I try to make my entries amusing and/or entertaining if at all possible. I don't write about my personal life all that much, unless something interesting or stupid happens. My personal life isn't very interesting at all, really. Mostly I just like to rant about stuff or make up some sort of bizarre, confusing entry. That's always fun.

On Sundays (usually Sundays, anyway), I do a feature called Shinmaru vs. The World, where I pluck Internet news stories and make fun of them. It seems to be pretty popular, and I always have a good time ripping apart stories, because a lot of them deserve it. However, a lot of the time the actual news stories are funnier than my comments, simply because they're so weird lol. A recent favorite of mine involved bakers trying to spruce up the wafers that are served during communion.

For me, the fun of blogging comes from writing the actual posts (I love writing) and reading people's reactions to the posts. Hell, half the weird crap that pops up on my site is just there to get some sort of reaction from people lol. Developing my myOtaku has been fun, because it's resulted in some of the more creative things I've done in my life, which may or may not be more than a bit sad. I think that my favorite is either the 4,128th Post Spectacular (or whatever arbitrary number I decided to celebrate lol) or that one post where I pretended to be incredibly depressed, and then revealed that I was sad over Sonic Blaster not being #1 anymore. I caught a lot of **** for that one. :D

Anyway, I just try to make my site as entertaining as possible. Whether I'm updating about my personal life, or just raving about nonsense, I hope people have a decent time reading it. I know that I have a good time reading most of the sites that are on my buddy list. :)

[Panda]

[quote name='James][color=#B0251E'] I think that makes her page entertaining as well as being a place for her to muse over whatever is in her mind at the time.[/color][/quote]
Why thank you James. Of course if anyone goes there today they may think I am out of my mind. Who in their right mind posts a picture of a shark riding on elephant? Me. You know it!

I didn't start blogging until I opened up my own myO account. I have my own personal website but I would only do updates maybe once every 7 or 8 months. I found doing a daily update on myO was much easier than writing up my website update. Updating my personal website means I would have to build a new page to my website in Flash, upload it to my server, change the links so they link correctly...it was too much work for just a little update. Writing an update for myO was so much easier and fun.

I enjoy making my blog very interactive. That would be asking and being asked questions. Many of the questions I ask are off the beaten path and really wouldn't be up to par to post on the OtakuBoards. For instance asking which you would rather have: a) The Emperial March play whenever you walked into a room? b) A funky wacka-chu-wacka 70's soundtrack play when you walk down the sidewalk? This type of question on the OB would probably result in silly, spammy posts. So I post this in my blog and the comment box is fine for a short and silly response.

All of my friends and family know about my blog and can check in on it anytime they want. This way they can check in on me and see what is going on in my life. I am really bad about emailing, calling, mailing..etc..all my friends and family. This way they can keep tabs on me. The short update I do at the begining let's them know that I am still alive and kicking. It's easier than sending out that generic letter to everyone!

So, to sum it all up:
- I use my blog as a way for my friends and family to keep tabs on me.
- Gives me a place to visit with online friends.
- Allows me to have an outlet to unleash my bizarre humor on the unsuspecting masses.

There you have it. Why I blog and why you must visit my blog. :animeblus

[Semjaza]

I had my own personal site prior to myOtaku coming around. I posted on it pretty regularly and got a decent visitor-base... but I also joined myOtaku in the first few days it was around. I think Adam IMed me about it or something.

I posted on there pretty much exclusively for awhile. I think I was writing different posts on both sites for awhile, then copying the ones from my site to myOtaku... eventually I just came up with using an iFrame and only making new myOtaku posts so the site would list me as writing something new. I still put up posts on myOtaku so people know I've updated my site... but I don't really use any of its other features now.

I think, for most people, it's just easier to post from myOtaku than it is to go to my site separately and do post (particularly since I didn't have it set up to remember posters till more recently). Part of it is laziness I guess, but it's also extremely convenient for people. They have a universal name, their own page and a list of who updated and who didn't. People are far more likely to comment on my site if they have something telling them there's new stuff on it... I'd use RSS and blogrolls, but most of the people I visit don't have the means to use it. I like to put things on there that generally can't be accessed from the myOtaku itself anyway, so I guess there's some incentive to go to the real URL.

I think what makes myOtaku successful is really just how easy to use it is. Obviously some people want it to do other things, as evidenced by requests and hacks, but I think the fact that it's a little less complex than other site's stuff is a good thing. The whole anime angle helps too, as I guess it gets people who visit theOtaku site interested in joining.

Blogger and stuff are neat, but aside from the very basic options, a lot of the customizing takes more work and some sort of knowledge of coding. myOtaku has pretty much bypassed this... but I don't know how the future versions are going to be. Hopefully it will retain that usablity.

[Roxie Faye]

[color=#9933ff]Heh, as apposed to Azure and Shin's reasons for signing up, it was the opposite for me. Everybody wanted to have a myO, and I didn't want to be so generic, like everyone else. I wanted to be so different that I totally did not allow myself to have something I wanted. I was going through one of my "hate" phases in my love-hate relationship with OB & co.

Eventually my therapist talked me into having a myO. I like it because sometimes I want to say really personal things about myself and let people know it, but I can't just walk up to somebody randomly and say it. In a blog or myO, I can say it and let everyone (who chooses to read), know it. And I like that.

I have something private (a journal, I guess you'd call it), where I write down absolutely everything, especially the things no one should see.

After a while, I tried to abandon my myO because I got fed up with the stupid comments box. Drove me insane that I would visit everybody's myO, comment, and rarely would anyone comment back. There's actually a whole slew of issues I had with the comments box which are just as silly as that.

In the end, I found out that I could just turn off the comments box, and now I love my myO so much more. It's great, and it's solved all of the issues I've ever had with the comments box. Baron asked me once if I could put it back up, and I told him that I feel that if someone really felt moved by something I said, they'd go the extra mile to PM me.

Speaking of which, I want everyone to do me a favor. Visit my myO and please respond (PM me, either on OB or myO) to the most recent post. It would mean so so much to me - you have no idea how much. Please do that now: [url]http://www.myotaku.com/users/mistressRoxie[/url] [/color]

[Xander Harris]

Well, I used to use MyOtaku to just talk about my life. I still do that occasionally, but recently I've shifted the focus to posting reviews of various random things. My last few posts have covered Inuyasha manga, 'Saved!', and Escaflowne. If I talk about my life nowadays, I make the aspect of my life under discussion into a review. It's fun to write, and hopefully entertaining for anyone bored enough to drop by and read it.

[OtakuSennen]

To be honest, I was pretty skeptical of myOtaku when I first heard about it. I had never even made an attempt at a blog before, and I didn't really know what to do with it at first. If you were to go back and look at my early entries, I basically rambled on incoherently about my sad little social life. I soon realized, however, that it's not very wise to be so open to the anonymous public, so I fixed that soon enough. As time went on, I focused more on humorous rants (like everyone else) and opinions on various video games, movies, anime, etc. Now, I don't know exactly when it happened, but somewhere along the line myOtaku took over my life, and here I am today.

More than anything, though, I use myOtaku as an artistic outlet. As those who visit my site frequently know, I change my layout more often than most, thanks to my ongoing love affair with Photoshop. Also, I have a sort of webcomic deal going on.. It's inconsistent as hell, but it's there. I enjoy getting my work out to a wider audience than if I just tried to penetrate the ranks of a site like DeviantArt.

And despite all of that, I still haven't uploaded any fanart since July. :p

EDIT: Oh, right, the plug. [url="http://www.myotaku.com/otakusennen"][b]I may as well.[/b][/url]

[JenniKate]

I have to admit my primary blog is at Live Journal, this is because 90% of my friends are on there and as many of my friends are overseas and interstate it is the easiest way to keep them updated on my life.

I use myotaku for more random thoughts that I don't necessarily want my friends to see. It is a much more anonymous blog for me and it's always good to have somewhere to write where people don't judge you on what they already know of you.

The main things I like about myotaku is that the people who reads it understands my love of anime so anytime I mention anime I'm not considered crazy and obsessive.

I also like the area to post quiz results, so often blogs just become a mass of quiz results and no real talk, having a spot where you can include your quiz results means that the 'talk' part of your blog remains readable.

[Baron Samedi]

[size=1]The whole "Sign up and reserve your name" thing got to me. I signed up, and didn't even do anything with it for several months I believe. And then I started posting...and from there, it has increased exponentially. I don't really post every day...I don't have enough time for that, nor enough inclination. I post reasonably regularly though.

Primarily it's just something for me to do. I don't get any particular therapeutic aid from posting in it, nor do I feel much of a need to. If anything I post in it due to some misplaced sense of duty. I normally talk about whatever I've been doing on there... I'm not amusing enough to write articles for it :p[/size]

[DeathKnight]

[color=crimson]I had a LJ before I came to MyOtaku. MyOtaku is easier to use *and* 90 percent of my friends are either on OB or have a MyOtaku themselves- so it's more of a community feeling than when I was at LJ.

I'm not really sure what I use it for. I rarely talk about my day unless something unusual or annoying happens. Most of the time I link to various topics [most of them threads on OB] and write about them in a more personal setting. Pseudo-philosophical rants/tangents, I suppose. I ask people to comment back on what I write with their impressions/opinions. That probably makes it less interesting than other more carefree blogs, but I like having an outlet for my thoughts on things. Once and awhile I might shove in some satirical commentary on our community at large but it's all in good fun, of course. My goal seems to be a mix of personal enlightenment and affecting other's lives- but, idealism aside, it's mainly just a dump for my [strike]deeper[/strike] thoughts.

If you are interested, [url=http://www.myotaku.com/users/deathknight/]take a look[/url]. Or, drop me a PM sometime. I'm always up for meeting new people.[/color]

[Desbreko]

[color=#4B0082]My original reason for creating a myOtaku account was just to reserve my screen name. I didn't think I'd do much with my myOtaku page, considering that my Blogspot page sat inactive most of the time. But then James threatened to "come after me" if I didn't post updates. ... How could I refuse?

At first I did the stupid little "I did such as such today" posts, along with the quiz results thing (back before those got their own section of your myOtaku page). Not much changed from my Blogspot account in regards to what I posted, though I actually did post more often than on Blogspot. Getting feedback (i.e. comments) on the posts was nice, so I abandoned Blogspot and moved exclusively over to myOtaku.

Then I started experimenting with the use of HTML in my introduction and posts. Most of the fun of that simply came from seeing how much I could do, like with the post borders and background, then with the various sections in the introduction. That was about the same time I really started being interested in learning HTML, so it was a fun way to practice writing my own HTML instead of using Dreamweaver.

About the same time, I started the weekly rotation of midi music files on my site that's been going on for about a year and a half now -- 83 midis and counting. Yes, it was gimicky, but I liked using it as a way to share some of my favorite songs (mainly video game themes) and talk about them. As for why midis and not mp3s, I chose them because I try to be at least somewhat considerate of 56K users.

And more recently, I started using a little flash mp3 player called Flam Player on my site, after seeing Tony use it on Wrapped in Plastic. With it, I was able to put up mp3s on my page for people to listen to, but wouldn't load until clicked on. An embedded midi isn't all that bad to load automatically for a 56K user (since most browsers will load the rest of the page, then start loading the midi), but an mp3 is a but much for that. So Flam Player gave me a good way of sharing mp3s with those who have broadband (and those who are patient), which is good because I'm not limited by whether or not I can find decent midi versions of songs.

As for what I actually post about now, most of it falls into one of three categories: thoughts on whatever video game I happen to be playing, various ideas or concepts for things I might do (RPGs, websites, etc.), or completely random crap. (An example of that third category would be my latest post, titled [i]Desbreko's Recipe for Instant Ramen that Will Kick Your ***.[/i]) My comments on the various music I put up on the site now has its own section in the introduction.

The frequency of posts basically just comes down to "whenever I feel like it." Sometimes I post three or four times in a week. ... More often, only once or twice. I try to make my posts as interesting or as entertaining as I can, but mostly they're for my own amusement or to formulate my thoughts in a more organized way. Or sometimes they're just shameless plugs; those are fun too.

Oh, and my site is, and forever will be, [url=http://www.myotaku.com/users/desbreko/][u]all about the rupees[/u][/url]. Take a look if you're interested.[/color]

[future girl]

[size=1]I started a myOtaku account because I figured why the hell not? I have a livejournal account that is friends only, I primarily use it to keep in touch with my friends from highschool and to plan things. Kind of like, meet me at this time and at this place. Funnily enough, if it weren't for livejournal we really wouldn't see each other as much as we do. Otherwise I don't really use it though. At least not as much as before, it's tedious for whatever reason and I can talk to my friends so I don't really see the point in telling them about my day and/or feelings. On myO I do write a lot more frequently because it keeps me informed on other people that I have no other method of speaking to and it's enjoyable because of that. Most of my post tend to be about the things in my life and how they make me feel. I do try to add a little bit of culture by mentioning bands I like or books that I'm reading, but it's really nothing special. I treat it like I would a regular journal, that and I really do enjoy the communal aspect of it.

I change my layout a lot, in homage to things I'm currently obsessed with. At the moments Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is being honored.[/size]

[Petie]

[font=Verdana][color=blue]I originally found myOtaku while I was looking up some Yu-Gi-Oh information on theOtaku. I wasn't really sure what it had to offer but the little ad on the side encouraging you to register drew me in from the start. I figured I'd make an account and see how it goes from there.[/color][/font]
[font=Verdana][color=blue][/color][/font]
[font=Verdana][color=blue]My site is [url=http://www.myotaku.com/users/petie]myOtaku.com: Petie[/url] and while I wasn't sure how long I'd stick with it, it really has become a part of my everyday life now. I didn't have a blog before this and as far as I was concerned at the time, I had no intentions of making one. It's not that I was against them, I just really didn't think I'd have one. Heh, I guess I was wrong.[/color][/font]
[font=Verdana][color=blue][/color][/font]
[font=Verdana][color=blue]I generally just post about what happened during the day. Nothing all to interesting, though sometimes, as I found out last month, it can be. See, last month, I waas in Italy for 9 days and people who visited my site seemed to be pretty interested in what I had to say.[/color][/font]
[font=Verdana][color=blue][/color][/font]
[font=Verdana][color=blue]Slowly, as I learned more about HTML and CSS, I started messing around with my site to see what I could do. If you take a look now, you'll notice that a lot has changed ftom the original design. A lot of my changes stemmed from a growing list of friends and not enough space to display their buttons. From there, I just continued to experiment until I ended up with what I have now. I've had a lot of questions on how it was done and I'm glad that people are interested. Like James originally said, it gives people an idea of what they could do if they wanted to.[/color][/font]
[font=Verdana][color=blue][/color][/font]
[font=Verdana][color=blue]One thing I don't do that I see a lot of people do around myOtaku though is change my layout often. Since I registered, I've only ever changed it twice (three different color schemes). The original was blue, followed by green, and now red. I don't know, I just like a consistent look and after a while, I'll end up changing it again.[/color][/font]

[Arcadia]

[size=1]I think DK really touched on why myOtaku does so well with internet blogging - it's part of a much bigger community and it's all interconnected. It's much, much easier to find people with similar interests (especially because it's so anime oriented) and the variety of things you can creatively do with the site (like messing with the layout, taking quizzes, uploading fan art and wallpapers, etc) makes it much more fun. Overall there seems to be a very close-knit family feeling to theOtaku that is simply missing in other blogging sites like livejournal, freeopendiary, and xanga. That's what keeps members coming back for more.

I update [url="http://www.myOtaku.com/users/arcadia"]myOtaku blog[/url] pretty regularly, but I also have a livejournal account. Both are a way to keep in touch with people and let them know what's going on with me on a more general level, only myOtaku is more for the people I meet here and livejournal is more for my friends back home. They're also both a great way to discuss various ideas or beliefs about books, movies, life, and/or whatever else strikes your fancy.

I do agree with Azure that a blog is different from a journal. I use my blog to keep in touch with people, but I use my journal to keep in touch with myself. It's a much more private, personal way to write out my frustrations and get to the bottom of things that I might not be able to talk about otherwise. Both are hugely important to me in their own ways and I've been pretty consistant with both for a few years now. It's all about the communication. ^_^[/size]

[Godelsensei]

I don't quite remember what I was thinking when I first created my myOtaku.* However, I do know that I'm an egotistical, self-absorbed, attention-seeking bastard, so blogging is most definately my thing. And, [i]damn[/i], am I glad I settled on TheOtaku.com and its various community features than Xanga or any other sucky thing like that.
In the past, I've tried to keep a sort of diary, usually out of boredom, but this never really interested me for very long. I never really knew why I couldn't get into it--I mean, I love writing and have strong opinions--until I started using the internet more and more. Then, it hit me: there's no point in saying anything if no one else is going to hear/read it. So, I did what any self-respecting, loud-mouthed egotist would do: blog.
Sure, my blog sucked at first, and it probably still does, according to many sets of standards, but getting other people's responses to my opinions on even the most trivial of things is, simply put, a good time. Being part of a tightly-knit community of self-respecting egotists proved to be an even better time.

I think the blog is a very effective and positive outlet, even if it is a poorly-written, yuckily-formatted thing. Writing about your problems, especially when you have people around who are willing to sympathize with them and give their advice/opinions is a great way to relieve stress. You don't have to "know" the people you're addressing, so saying something that might embarrass you or that you later regret wont hurt your real-life relationships.
In a nut-shell, it's proactive [i]and[/i] improves your communication skills! What a sweet deal that is.

Another thing I've found endlessly enjoyable about the myOtaku community (and I guess blogging in general) is seeing what assumptions people make about you, having just read your writing and seen your layout. I guess I can speak from the same position as Azure, in an abstract way, when it comes to things like this: people get my age horribly, horribly wrong and the same is true of their theories regarding his gender. Only I don't really make a big deal out of correcting them, like he does. : P

Though I have plans for a bigger, more exclusive blog for myself in future (not that this is going to happen for a while, most likely), myOtaku will always be my first real experience in blogging and how great the internet can be.

Basically...I love you guys...!! ;_;

*I swear, when they named it this, the guys in charge must have really had it in for clarity, when it comes to possesives.

[Ozymandius Jones]

[COLOR=DarkOrange]I found MyOtaku before I was even aware of OtakuBoards. I was searching for decent anime pictures, and stumbled onto TheOtaku. The line about "Reserve your Name" kind of got me...because I was [i]so[/i] scared that someone else would steal my name...[straight face, straight face....gone... :rotflmao: ]

What really actually got me was the fanart section. I was really, really into drawing, and I wanted to display my art. So I signed up. I have no blogs elsewhere...and only online acquaintences read it, so it's not like I use it to keep in touch wih distant relatives or anything...

But I love it...all the people I visit make it a point to try and make their sites interesting, and people seem to like mne...I enjoy reading people's thoughts on certain subjects, and it's fun getting your guestbook signed...with the exception of the people who sign it "omg!1 I loev ur site, plz come se mine ok by thx." Grr...*wishes for a cyber flamethrower*

I'm still in shock that I've reached 75 on the member list...[/COLOR]

[satan665]

I started one out of pure curiosity, and didn't really figure anyone would read it and I would just have a type of rambling journal. Strangely enough people seem to read what I write there and comment which is strangely gratifying. Its nice to have a pseudo-community from otakuboards so that you can get people randomly checking out your site. I try to keep my friends list on MyO down to very very few people and just read and post on their sites as often as possible. Otakuboards is a nice filter where you can pretty much judge by someones posts whether or not you should bother with checking their blog.

It is super easy to do as well, I have my own webspace and it takes a ton of time and effort to get going with. You can personalize MyO sites without much effort, and get people to check it out sometimes just by posting on their blogs. Usually if someone drops a comment I'll head over to their sites.

Also on my personal website I would like to make a blog out of it, but aren't too savvy with the technology so it might be a long time coming. You can compare the two sites and see that I post on MyO a lot more. I like the style of my site better though and the ability to alter it in any way I want except its limited by what I'm capable of.

[URL=http://uoregon.edu/~arobak]My site[/URL]

[URL=http://www.myotaku.com/users/satan665/]MyOtaku site[/URL]

[TheShinje]

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[color=Gray][b][url="http://www.myotaku.com/users/shinji"]My MyOtaku[/url] [/b](sic)

I use my MyOtaku to either, post about my day, rant about the latest movies, or talk about my latest projects.

The theme changes constantly, as I'm either never happy with it, or I find soemthing else that I want to plug. Right now, i'm using a War of the worlds theme, but I mgiht change this for easter.

My Page is a bundle of surprises, you never know what's going to go up from day to day. Ther is even an easter egg hidden on the page for those adventurous enough to try and find it. :p
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[Missa]

D***, my desk just broke...Oh well.

Anyway, I was planning to create my own website. I wanted to start an online journal, post various short stories, and also post my scribbles that I try to pass for fanart. But...I'm a lazy bum. If I had created my own webpage, I would have never updated it after about three months or so.

So...I posted my stuff on various sites, even started a journal at Livejournal.com. Then I stumbled across myotaku one day...and...was just so thrilled. I could blog and post my artwork. I like blogging on myotaku better because there IS a community and it seems easier and more convient.

I had planned to write some amusing, interesting posts. For example, "God does not have a penis..." That hasn't happened yet. So far my blog is less than lame, mainly because I haven't been motivated to put any real effort into the crap that I write. But maybe I will find that motivation. I just need to find a way to start a fire under my a**.

Until then...you can check out the crap that is all ready there. myotaku.com/users/missa8305

[Venge]

I ran across theOtaku.com a few years ago while searching up Dragonball Z fan art. Well, I continuously went back to the site, looking up other fanart as well. I then knoticed that I could sign up for a myOtaku account, and hence, I did. I started out using a characters name (Kantron), but I deleted that account and made the one I am using, and probably will use ALWAYS, Matt Prower (link below).
I really liked the fact that I could meet knew people and even post my own artwork, which I so wanted to do. So, I started to update my site with my daily life and when I got to a scanner and Adobe Photoshop, I posted my artwork.

myOtaku.com is a pretty good part of my everyday life. I love the fact that there are people that can ACTUALLY relate to me other than my mother. And I have met many people that I have talked to a lot and I consider them my friends. If it wasn't for myOtaku.com, I wouldn't be the person I am today, most likely.

>>Matt

*NOTE* I can't get the link to work...just use the link on the user bar.

[Havokio]

[COLOR=Indigo]I had hardly used it.

There was a time period though, that several people showed up and said "hi", if only for the sake of being polite. Cause after that wave, I'd find no one. I only have 6 people listed as "friends', but I may as well delete them.

I started a blog, but seeing as how no one comented after the wave, I'd decided to stop.

Here goes... [url=myotaku.com/users/havokio] Havokio's Hell[/url][/COLOR]

[4815162342]

[COLOR=DarkRed]I am very ashamed to say that most of the time I don't even remember I have one. Every now and then I'll remember, and post for about a week straight and then *bloop* I'll forget again. But then it's not that bad... I forget that I own some things until I'm looking at them, and then it's like, oh yeah... that is mine isn't it... :animeswea *goes to update myO site*[/COLOR]