How to Get Established on Dreamwidth
Nov. 11th, 2022 08:48 pmI've heard that some people are joining DW and then finding it really difficult to figure out how to find content that they want to see when DW doesn't have an algorithm to suggest things to you. So I thought I'd share my methods of finding content that I want to see.
This is more work than letting an algorithm do things for you, but it also means that you only get exactly what you want, and you get the opportunity to talk to people and make connections that you wouldn't do if you were only pressing a 'like' button.
So, you've turned up on DW and made an account. Now what do you do?
1. Establish you're a person
First of all, upload at least one icon and make a couple of posts of your own. This will establish you as a real person, so that when you start following people, they will be more inclined to allow you access and to follow you back.
It's probably a good idea to make one of those posts an explanation that you're newly arrived and you're going to be following a lot of people. That way if people whom you've just followed go to your journal to check you out, they'll know why you've started following them out of the blue.
2. Choose some interests
In your profile, there is a space to list your interests. List everything you can think of that you would be interested to read about or talk about. If you're fannish, this will be easy - list every fandom you're interested in, every pairing etc. If you're not fannish then list hobbies, interests and things you want to talk about, whether it's knitting or gardening or politics etc.
3. Use your interests to find people to follow
Once you save your interests, you'll see that every interest which is shared by someone else on the site has become a link.
Click on your first interest, and you'll be taken to a list of people who share that interest. Follow anyone who's been active in the last year.
Now see if there are any communities listed who share that interest. Join any communities which have been active in the last year.
Repeat for the next interest, and the next, until you've followed all the people and joined all the communities which list your interest.
4. Use your communities to find people to follow
The communities you belong to will be full of people who share your interests, but who may not have put them in their bio. Now you can go through the posts in each community and follow people who have made interesting posts or comments in the community.
By this time your reading page should have quite a lot of posts on it. Now you need to start commenting on people's posts. If you haven't made an introduction post, then comment on something that each person you followed has said and say hello that way. If you have made an introduction post just start commenting on things that interest you, and people will usually be happy to chat back.
At this stage you might feel that you're fine and you have enough connections and enough to read. If so, that's great - read your reading list, comment on other people's posts, make posts of your own, and people will comment on them. Soon you'll feel settled in a nice community of people you know who are talking about things you like.
5. Use the people you follow to find people to follow
If your reading list is still sparse after going through the steps above, then you can use the people you follow to help you locate more people to follow.
Go to the profiles of people you follow. There will be a list of the people they follow. If you follow interesting people, the chances are that they follow interesting people too. Check out the people your friends follow and follow them too.
EDITED to add this great list of links with lots of tips on how to feel at home on DW by![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
theladyscribe How to Dreamwidth: a linkspam
That's all I know! Anyone else got other hints?
This is more work than letting an algorithm do things for you, but it also means that you only get exactly what you want, and you get the opportunity to talk to people and make connections that you wouldn't do if you were only pressing a 'like' button.
So, you've turned up on DW and made an account. Now what do you do?
1. Establish you're a person
First of all, upload at least one icon and make a couple of posts of your own. This will establish you as a real person, so that when you start following people, they will be more inclined to allow you access and to follow you back.
It's probably a good idea to make one of those posts an explanation that you're newly arrived and you're going to be following a lot of people. That way if people whom you've just followed go to your journal to check you out, they'll know why you've started following them out of the blue.
2. Choose some interests
In your profile, there is a space to list your interests. List everything you can think of that you would be interested to read about or talk about. If you're fannish, this will be easy - list every fandom you're interested in, every pairing etc. If you're not fannish then list hobbies, interests and things you want to talk about, whether it's knitting or gardening or politics etc.
3. Use your interests to find people to follow
Once you save your interests, you'll see that every interest which is shared by someone else on the site has become a link.
Click on your first interest, and you'll be taken to a list of people who share that interest. Follow anyone who's been active in the last year.
Now see if there are any communities listed who share that interest. Join any communities which have been active in the last year.
Repeat for the next interest, and the next, until you've followed all the people and joined all the communities which list your interest.
4. Use your communities to find people to follow
The communities you belong to will be full of people who share your interests, but who may not have put them in their bio. Now you can go through the posts in each community and follow people who have made interesting posts or comments in the community.
By this time your reading page should have quite a lot of posts on it. Now you need to start commenting on people's posts. If you haven't made an introduction post, then comment on something that each person you followed has said and say hello that way. If you have made an introduction post just start commenting on things that interest you, and people will usually be happy to chat back.
At this stage you might feel that you're fine and you have enough connections and enough to read. If so, that's great - read your reading list, comment on other people's posts, make posts of your own, and people will comment on them. Soon you'll feel settled in a nice community of people you know who are talking about things you like.
5. Use the people you follow to find people to follow
If your reading list is still sparse after going through the steps above, then you can use the people you follow to help you locate more people to follow.
Go to the profiles of people you follow. There will be a list of the people they follow. If you follow interesting people, the chances are that they follow interesting people too. Check out the people your friends follow and follow them too.
EDITED to add this great list of links with lots of tips on how to feel at home on DW by
theladyscribe How to Dreamwidth: a linkspamThat's all I know! Anyone else got other hints?
