Hwh just answered some of this in the above; I really like the wordpress interface, and have always found blogger easy to navigate and find stuff.
Yes, it hasn't got half the functionality, but I can always find the stuff it can do. With LJ, I still get lost regularly. And new/less geeky users find it really difficult at times, number of times I've talked someone through something that should be easy is a pain in the arse.
Bear in mind you've been here for more than 3 years, so LJ is what you're specifically used to, so you compare other sites to it. New users are trying to do things compared to what they've found elsewhere already, and LJ is a bit clunky.
Also, LJs usage and userbase are both shrinking, in a bad way, they need to make the site more welcoming.
I'm completely with you on MySpace, hate hate hate. But, unfortunately, it's popular, despite being crap. My MP has a MySpace FFS.
Rather than ramble; what was user friendly 31/2 years ago isn't compared to now. LJ is competing with so many other platforms, and users expect the height of ease of use. delicious pointed me right at a browser plugin when I signed up, I find flickr easy to trawl around even without an account. New users expect sites to be that easy. LJ, for a lot, isn't. Not for me, but for a lot of others, including a few of my personal friends (I had to show one how to add friends recently, he had no idea what they were for).
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Yes, it hasn't got half the functionality, but I can always find the stuff it can do. With LJ, I still get lost regularly. And new/less geeky users find it really difficult at times, number of times I've talked someone through something that should be easy is a pain in the arse.
Bear in mind you've been here for more than 3 years, so LJ is what you're specifically used to, so you compare other sites to it. New users are trying to do things compared to what they've found elsewhere already, and LJ is a bit clunky.
According to
Also, LJs usage and userbase are both shrinking, in a bad way, they need to make the site more welcoming.
I'm completely with you on MySpace, hate hate hate. But, unfortunately, it's popular, despite being crap. My MP has a MySpace FFS.
Rather than ramble; what was user friendly 31/2 years ago isn't compared to now. LJ is competing with so many other platforms, and users expect the height of ease of use. delicious pointed me right at a browser plugin when I signed up, I find flickr easy to trawl around even without an account. New users expect sites to be that easy. LJ, for a lot, isn't. Not for me, but for a lot of others, including a few of my personal friends (I had to show one how to add friends recently, he had no idea what they were for).