A new website, LDSJournal.com, launched April 2008 is a revolutionary online journaling service designed to help individuals easily keep and maintain a personal journal for posterity and family history. Entries can easily be posted, kept private, and backed up on secure servers. LDSJournal.com users will also have the option of printing out hardbound books of their journal entries and photos for storage. Users can access their LDSJournal.com account wherever there is internet access, from computers and PDAs or mobile phone devices. I’m an avid supporter of journal writing, and see many good advantages to this free website.
1. Ease of use. Many people use the Internet on a daily basis. This makes it easy to write a little here and write a little there.
2. Data is stored on servers at off-site location. This is great if you are involved in a local emergency. You don’t have to worry about your journal trapped in a burning house.
3. Easily search your journal quickly. Instead of flipping through hundreds of pages to find what you are looking for, a search term and provide the result in seconds.
4. Cost effective way to have it printed and bound as a book. Most publishing jobs are fairly expensive, causing most writers not to publish unless a certain quantity is printed. With the options that LDSJournal provides, you can have your journal printed and bound as book for as low as $20-$50 (price depends on color vs B&W as well as number of pages).
However, this method of journal writing has a great many disadvantages that can really put a damper on things:
1. You can not write in your journal whenever you want. You must have access to the Internet to view or write in the journal. I recall some of the best experiences in my life occurred at places that even today do not have Internet available: camping, military, as well as meditation and reflection in nature. The use of modern technology (phones, computers, and other digital devices) often can limit our receptors for spiritual revelation.
2. Digital journal writing does not accurately capture the true mindset of the author. Handwriting can be analyzed and can reveal many characteristics, traits, and moods of an author that digital text can not.
3. EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse). EMP is very likely in coming wars, would cause any electronic equipment to be non-operational.
4. The website is not actually a writing surface, but rather a data storage and retrieval system. The problem lies within that fact that if either the ability to store or ability to retrieve cease, then so does your “written” record. It is not a physical nor tangible writing surface.
5. No Power. Any power disruption from either the location of LDSJournal.com server or where you connect to the Internet will inhibit the ability to view or write in the journal.
6. Data Integrity. Data is not infallible. It is merely a series of ones and zeros, which can easily become corrupted.
7. Security Integrity. Although the data is encrypted and password protected, you do not have full control of the data like you would a book. (yes, hackers can intercept the data through various means).
8. Not guaranteed. It is not in a data storage medium guaranteed to be in existence in the future. Technology is rapidly changing and advancing, along with data storage and retrieval mediums.
The fundamental need to record things has clearly been with us for thousands of years. I personally opt for a hand-written journal (obtained from LDS Distribution Center), and I also type my journal entries in MS Word (to make searching easier). Overall I think it is a great service that LDSJournal.com is providing, but to give up hand-written journals entirely would be a big mistake. What are your thoughts on journal writing?
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Thanks for the information. I really loved your article on “Effectively Keeping a Journal.” I would like to share a few points on why I prefer writing my journal in a book.
1. I’m the type of write who likes to sit on a park bench at lunch time, and watch the world go by around me. This provides a relaxing atmosphere to “write” hand written thoughts. Looking back at actual handwriting can reveal the type of mood I was in at the time.
2. Although technology is advancing, it is also more vulnerable to theft. Yes, I could use a mobile device (laptop or phone) to type an online journal. But if a theif steals my bag, they are seeking after what brings them money. They are much less likely to be concerned about a book.
3. An online journal would require thus another login and password to have to remember. Then what happens if someone were to die? Unless they left that information in their will, family members may have no access to their family history.
4. I don’t consider myself a professional artist, but it is a talent I have. On many occassions I like to make drawings (or other doodles) in my journal, something you definitely can not do online.
5. Writing in a paper journal is fun, relaxing, and can be done anywhere, anytime. Just open the book; no power required.