“Frisbee Tournament at NIU!!!!!!!!”

“House Party Tonight”

“IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING THE SCHEDULE OF CLASSES”

These are but a few of the subject headers you will find at the NIU Community at livejournal.com. LiveJournal is an online virtual community where members can post messages and replies on topics ranging from where to get a good haircut in DeKalb to great parties and Homecoming festivities. The site also offers personal Web diaries (aka blogs).

With more than 100 members, the community attracts a wide variety of NIU students and is composed of newbies and long-time followers. Of the people Sweeps talked to, membership lengths ranged from five months to four years.

Robert Berndl, a sophomore pre-physical therapy major, said the community allows him access to information he normally wouldn’t have.

“I just felt it was a way for me to post my thoughts without actually having to find someone to talk to,” Berndl said. “Not only can I say what I’m thinking, but with the NIU LiveJournal community, I can find out interesting things that are going on around NIU that I may not necessarily know about. It is also good for incoming freshmen who want a current student’s opinion on certain questions.”

Others use the forum to let off some steam.

“[I use my blog to] rant on people and things that annoy me, plus [it is] a way to get my views out and to communicate with friends,” said senior history major Jason Spiewak.

While some users said they had many “friends” within the community they had never met, many students professed to having met up with community friends old and new in real-world settings.

“I have met a few people here at NIU through the NIU blogging,” said Barry Zeman, a sophomore computer science major. “Normally, I wouldn’t meet someone off the Internet, but the natural boredom factor of DeKalb combined with the fact that they liked good music made me say ‘Why not?’ I joined Women’s Alliance [a pro women’s rights, anti sexual violence group on campus] through my friend Meg [whom] I met through an NIU blog.”

Most members try to keep up-to-date with their live journals.

“[I usually post] three to four times a week,” said freshman psychology major Sarah Weik.

LiveJournal.com requires membership in order to post on any of the NIU boards or its members’ journals. However, membership is free and aside from a few basic rules, the community is a great place to get information on NIU events and parties, as well as keep in touch with friends and enemies alike.