person, so if I have a choice of complimenting a person or making a joke, I’ll
make a joke. I’m like that dad that won’t hug. It’s really pathetic.
Livingston: How did it feel to get famous so quickly?
Trott: It’s weird because—and I’m not comparing myself to a celebrity—when
people want to be celebrities or actors and they say that “this is the thing I want
most,” then they get to that point and they realize, “I feel the same way.” I feel
the same way that I really did 4 years ago. I have more confidence now, which
is a really important thing, and I’m happier. I can actually say I’m happier,
which I think the people who get famous can’t say.
I’m not famous in the sense that anybody outside of weblogging will know
who I am, but I’m still famous to the point where I don’t feel comfortable just
writing about anything online anymore, because people will dissect it. That’s
hard. But it’s been good, too, because I think we’ve gotten closer to what people
really want. You can’t have someone leading a company who is so concerned
about the whole world knowing what they’re doing and caring about being
famous, because that’s not how most people are.
It’s been better that I’ve become more inward, because I think that that’s
how people function. If I cared most about getting the most number of readers
for my blog, that’s not going to scale, because most people aren’t that way.
I went from that in 2002—that was probably the height of the popularity of my
blog—to where I am now, and it’s just like, “I like my LiveJournal because
20 people read it.” And figuring out how to make that experience better is really
important.
Livingston: How do you handle people who criticize you?
Trott: There are a lot of people, especially competition, who really criticize the
company for no reason. They personally attack us. They say we’re stupid. It’s
really mean. That stuff bothers me. Not as much anymore, because you have to
realize that people don’t do this sort of stuff unless they’re really . . . It’s like
when your mom tells you that the reason a girl is picking on you in school is
probably because she’s depressed. You have to understand they’re coming from
a place where they feel like they have to do it. We’ve never done things like
that. Sometimes I wish these people would get told off. But we’re successful
and that’s one of the reasons why we get picked on. You don’t pick on the
underdog.
But it’s hard, and that’s why I’d recommend doing something like the
LiveJournal for some friends that know you in real life, because it’s not fun to

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