My earlier Xanga post was about the appeal of having a place on the web where I could write and visit other people’s pages. Looking back, one thing that stands out is how different the act of publishing felt.

On a hand-built site, a short update might mean opening the editor, making a new page, and adding a link to it from the homepage. Then I had to get the right files onto the server. Each step was manageable. Taken together, they made a two-paragraph update feel like a small website project.

A hosted journal brought the writing box and the publish button together. The site could keep the entries in order, and I could spend the time thinking about what I wanted to say. I still like the freedom of a site I can build myself. Xanga made it easier to see how much work the publishing tool could take off the writer’s hands.