For me, seeing Xanga survive is personal. Back in the day when Xanga was uber popular, many of us were lucky enough to get featured several times, and it was always fun seeing one post (or picture) receive thousands of views and several hundred comments. I also loved beta-testing for Xanga on occasion as well as instant messaging with Xanga staff. This was my first blogging experience, and I loved the fact that there was a huge platform and network for creativity.

Then, in 2006, the Feds fined Xanga $1 million for what I consider a technicality, which you can read about Here. This fine hit Xanga at the worst possible time, just as Myspace was taking off. While Xanga desperately needed to focus on competing with Myspace, they instead were forced to focus on hiring lawyers and paying stiff fines. 

Of course Xanga made some mistakes along the way, and they regularly say that they are bringing back the simplicity of early Xanga. I think this is a wise move. However, I hope that Xanga doesn’t abandon their Video, Audio and Photo hosting. Xanga’s addition of multimedia blogging gave many people, myself included, an alternative to all of the bloated and ad-saturated multimedia sites. 

Perhaps this is my final post on the oldschool original Xanga site. It is kind of sad, since Xanga was a huge part of my life for a long time. I don’t expect the new site to be quite as popular, at least at first. But with this “new lease on life”, Xanga is acknowledging and directly facing the issues at hand, rather than sweeping them under the rug or simply selling out. That is something I can support.

Sincerely, Pete (formerly known as “pedrothepoet”)

@john @thexangateam