MOG

The topic had so much potential, but I could only bring myself to pop out a mere 50 words. Thanks for stopping by to class up the joint a little bit.

But really, is there anything to the fact that I keep seeing these little alien faces where I used to see such attractive images of people and places? It is just a little disconcerting, you know?

You're right though Ivy, a high turnover is to be expected, but typically when folks disappear from sites like this they don't bother to actually close their accounts. Fucking weird is all I can say.

I have noticed similar things, only a few have surprised me. You see some people start posting like crazy, then a few, then nothing. Most of the people you see on a regular basis have stuck around though, while others have only begun to post on certain peoples mogs. That has been the main thing I noticed, people who start out posting everywhere, then they settle on a few posts a day. Needless to say, I have grown to hate that little alien dude.

I hafta say, the departure of Jess is the one I'm feeling most. You could count on practically anything she said being fun and relevant and smart. However, as she is (or, presumably, was) a MOG employee, it's logical that if she left the firm she would leave completely. Wozniak has bowed out before, then returned, so it's not as if his recent departure has no precedent - though, again, I enjoyed what he had to say. Who am I missing here?

Those are definitely two of the most prominent and two of the most reasonable explanations. I suppose it is because of them that I even noticed any others. After that I saw a few more of the alien faces, but I can't say that any of them were particularly prominent to the extent of, say, Jess.

I suppose my concerns can all be chalked up to a case of paranoia with a tinge of hyperbole.

Of course, maybe that's just what they want you to think.....

This topic has been in my subconscious for a while and I could not figure out what was going on until just recently...

The exodus is based in my opinion of much of what you have said above, but also because MOG is changing. People are not commenting that way they used to due to the shear volume of posts as well as the content of the posts. These two things make the site difficult to navigate and quite frankly boring. Also, the majority of the music on MOG has always been somewhat mainstream, but lately I can turn on MTV or VH1 to see the same videos posted on the site along side the tour dates.

Another recent trend is reposting of articles which clog up the mog-o-shere making the search for unique content a 15 page trek. This is not the MOG I joined and made me excited about sharing opinion controversial topics and opened my eyes to new music that I would have not considered in the past. It is like MOG has lost its clout.

This post is a perfect example! How is it that only three people think this is an interesting topic?

Many thanks,

KIARAN

Kiaran, I have made adjustments in the way I use MOG in order to counteract some of the problems you speak of. The fact is, as this place grows, it is morphing from a village into a city. (I've used that analogy before, but still can't think of a better one.) Harder to navigate by definition, More strewn with litter, again by definition. Many people I've met here comment on the fact that it's harder to keep up, and there's so much more of what we define as clutter. As a counter to that, I tend to stick with my Trusteds, and venture out into the broader MOS only in moments of leisure. It's much harder to feel overhwelmed that way. The downside, of course, is that one is not as likely to encounter new points of view. That often happens when you decide to stay within your neighborhood and not venture out into strange parts of the city.

I suspect that a lot of people don't use MOG selectively -it wasn't necessary before - and therefore do feel overwhelmed and disenchanted. Please don't construe that as smugness on my part ("I've figured it out, and nobody else has"). But though I definitely hear what you're saying, I also think there are ways to keep hold of what has made MOG such a sanctuary for us all....

I had thought that as well, but I didn't want to discount the possibility that I'd been blocked by some for my opinions and/or grumpy comments (since I don't know what effect blocking has on viewing blockers' posts). I now see that while Jess still show up in my Trusted's, that she no longer has a page. Ah well, change is inevitable.

It's still loads better than Myspace and the other alternatives.

Point taken Ivy and that is a great way to make the most of the situation... You have a way with words.

MOG still is a very special city which I enjoy visiting on a regular basis. But things do change and as a credible source, some of what I see recently with the disappearance of those whose opinion I respect, cause a closer look and revaluation of my relationship to the site.

I like opinions and that is why I like MOG. News can be obtained anywere.

Respect always,

Kiaran

Things definitely change. People come and go. When I first started back in June there weren't as many people on here and it was easier to keep up with posts. Now there's just too much to reasonably read. I think people use it differently as well. Some just have it as a page to have and don't post. I get comments every once in a while from people I haven't heard from in months. I recently went through every person I trusted to kind of see who they were cause I had just way to many that didn't trust me. Something happened while I was not mogging during my wedding and I had somewhere over a hundred people drop me. A lot of people that were on my list I think just stopped using. I could see where I was commenting on their posts 4 months ago and they never posted after that. I think some still check out the mogos but they just don't actually participate within the realm of a social gathering. I personally like the social aspect because I'm not getting the same sort of gratification from the people in my home town. Mog is great about that. I find new music all of the time from Moggers. I think you're going to have a lot of people on here who are really into mainstream and flavors of the month but I think that sort of mirrors a lot of the country's (at least U.S.A.) listening habits. You're going to find a large chunk that is into this kind of music and a smaller percentile that branches out. I try to post when I can. I don't always have time. Sometimes I don't have time to check out every post. Like Ivylander I do try to go and read my trusted moggers pages when I find time. I don't always leave comments and I think others do the same as well. People will come and go. Even though I've only been on here for 9 months now I've seen Moggers change from when I first "met" them. I think that's normal though. I was a different person then too. Sorry for the long rant. I could go on forever about Mog. Love it. I also finished a big cup of coffee just before I read the post. Cheers.

By the way, FS, you new avatar is spiffing.

I was feeling fanciful today.

i was noticing this too, and didn't know if i should say something or not. jess did in fact stop working for/with mog. i suppose the decision to delete her account was her own. it would be difficult to maintain a mog if you no longer felt the passion for the company. wozniak's disappearance greatly surprised me. i was sad especially that i had not had the inclination to bookmark the link he had just posted to the national geographic article. i will have to spend some time on NG looking for the story. and, indeed, mog is expanding. mog is trying to become huge. i suppose it is their desire to become huge. they probably want mog to be as popular as possible. so, for those that only like mog for its intimacy, it may stay this way for much longer. however! there is one gleaming thing to look forward to. mog will be launching an all new mog near the end of this month/beginning of next month. a few people who were mogging very late the other night caught a momentary glimpse of it, and said that it looked wonderful. the biggest benefit of this change, imo, is going to be the new navigational structure. the tags that we have all been using above each post will become usable to search for things. if you want to look at only hip hop music you can just click on hip hop. if you want only music related posts, you can click on that. i am hoping that this will make it easier to find what you want to look at in the 15 pages per day of posts. also, when the new mog launches, you will only see those news posts if you want to. you click on news to read news, and don't click on it if you don't want to. it's kind of funny how there is so much tension and disconcerted posts right before this change is about to happen. like the tension you feel in the air as a storm is about to hit. but then, when the storm is over, there is this wonderful refreshing feeling, as everything is cleaned up and sparkling, and the air is fresher and easier to breathe. i hope this is how mog pulls out of the storm...

Keenly perceptive Brand X. It does take some managing at this point. I think a lot of people have great things to say so I trust a lot. Then I notice 135 emails every day and it is just too much to get through (and maintain a full fledged life). I'm still figuring it out, because i want to contribute to the discussion as a poster and a commenter,but I want it to come naturally. I'm not leaving though.

@dj ivi-The coming changes may be a revelation..I hope so, anyway. The angst in the air definitley seems to be from growing pains.

Funny, I had been thinking about writing a post which incorporated a number of thoughts brought up here.

I have a really busy real life running my business, and I spend quite a bit of my spare time on my e-life - mostly on Mog 'cos I love it here. However it's really hard to find the interesting stuff. Most of my trusteds post A LOT. Which is good. But a little hard to keep up with. Also, some of my trusteds like a lot of other stuff I don't.

For instance, I really like electronic music, though preferably when it's fused with something else, rather than just hard core bleeps, and I like a lot of early 80s post punk. Funnily enough though, I really dislike 'rock and roll' and anything remotely metal - it bores me to tears. Yet I know some of my trusteds really like some of this. I'd really like to be able to filter in a much more comprehensive fashion. Perhaps even to be able to filter my trusteds by genre or by tag (- which in some way goes against the idea of a trusted, I know).

One of the things I've noticed is with the number of posts out there, there are people who I know would like what I've posted (because I know their music taste) but who either don't see them or don't comment on them. I suspect part of this issue is that I'm in the Southern hemisphere, and most of you are asleep at the time I'm posting. By the time you're back on mog, the post is lost deep into the Mog-o-sphere amongst the music news, bands touring etc.

I'm hoping DJ Ivy, that what you are saying about the new Mog will help us all navigate through the dross (and also just the music we're not interested in). I'm looking forward to it. (Kate, just when are we likely to see this new version?)

Jonathan

I'd chalk it up to what everyone above has been saying...mog has grown so much that it feels different. It doesn't feel different enough to let go for me, but 9 months ago it had an intimacy that's been lost. Which would be fine if it were possible to absorb the new blood. Right now, I'm in my busy season at work and I can't keep up with my trusteds much less discover new people who have interesting things to say. I think everyone feels that way and it's probably contributing to the loss of familiar faces.