The History of AJ Blogging (pt. 1)

Hey Jammers! Welcome back to Animal Jam Stream ;D

I'm back home, and while I'm still a little busy with helping my family, I think I can officially say that this post will be the start of my almost-daily posting on AJ Stream! As I said before, I am still kinda busy, so for now you can expect a post every other day.

For this post, I'm gonna hold back on more recent AJ news for now, mostly because other blogs have already gone over it and there really isn't much new. Except those two unspeakable items that I don't want to poison this blog with (I mean come on, why would a box of cereal be a chair or a table!? AJHQ is just being uncreative...)

No. For this post, I wanna take you back to where it all began: the origin, the rise, and decline in the popularity of AJ blogging. 

I have had this AJ blog for hmm.... seven years now. At the beginning, most of my readers knew about all these older blogs, but there has been a lot of turnover over the years. It's sad to see friends/commenters go, but it's also nice to see new people show up.

Regardless, I am certain that at this point, 95% of you guys have no idea where the above screenshot is from.

But I'll tell you: Animal Jam Rush is widely considered the oldest AJ blog around– or if not the oldest, the one that inspired everyone to make their own.

So Fuzzy Shyivy (who's username was really vivacandy, but in beta testing, animal names were seen as more important) started blogging during beta testing and quickly rose in popularity. 

AJ Rush was a helpful beginner's guide to Jamaa, and inspired the posting structure of future AJ blogs. 

Fuzzy quit blogging in early 2012, enlisting the help of co-authors, who then quit in late 2012/early 2013. The blog is still up though (linked above), and is a great resource for anyone who wants to learn more about the history of AJ.

(On a side note, the EXTINCT marker over Fuzzy's panda used to really offend me because at the time I joined, nobody liked pandas for some reason XD even today I guess that marker is pretty sad though)

Moving on– 

More of you might recognize Snowyclaw's now-inactive but still very important blog. Snowy also started blogging in a very early stage of Animal Jam (June 2011) because of a very rare encounter with an actual shaman (now called alphas) in the Lost Temple of Zios. I'll show you what I mean:

WOW, right?

As far as I know, this is the only recorded image of this ever happening, but some other older players in the comments have said that they saw Graham, too– even Greely, maybe!

This encounter probably influenced what Animal Jam Spirit was mostly known for: the myths and legends of Jamaa. Something about having these unique nature-based legends surrounding the characters of Jamaa gave Animal Jam a depth that no other kids game could have.

A big contribution that Snowyclaw made to the AJ community was the idea of "Jamaasian"– basically, a word used to describe the nature-based myth-based aspects of Animal Jam that made it such a unique game. 

Shamans/alphas had a large presence in early AJ, but there were a couple years where they weren't mentioned at all. It's thought that maybe AJHQ got some negative feedback from people who were upset for some reason that Jamaa had a spiritual-ish origin story that somehow made them insecure about their own beliefs. 

Honestly, I think it was harmless and unobtrusive, and Shamans/alphas being removed from the game (and later turned into more superhero-esque characters) seriously hurt the integrity of Animal Jam.

As Animal Jam Spirit gained popularity, Snowyclaw popularized the idea of a "Jamaasian Movement"– the push to get shamans/alphas, myths, and legends back into Animal Jam.

"All I know is that I didn't join Jamaa for the rares or the games. I joined it to find friends from around the world and learn more about the earth from an inspirational game. As corny as that sounds, it's true. I love Jamaa because of the imagination and creativity behind it. It is something more than a game. . .

Perhaps it started with Graham the monkey shaman. It all began then I suppose. I never realized how fun it would be to meet a shaman, and how I felt like I was becoming part of a story. None of my rares mattered at that moment. I just wish everyone else could feel the same. Things would be better. . ."

– Snowyclaw

Around 2013, it's thought that Snowy succeeded when a mysterious page at the back of the Jamaa Journal with a silhouette of who we now know as the alphas was pictured with a phrase like "we will soon return to Jamaa"

Almost a year later, adventures came out and the shamans were back. However, they were redesigned to look more marketable (AKA younger) and were renamed the "Alphas", most likely to remove the semi-spiritual connotation of "Shaman".

They were back. But in my view, this new design removed the vital aspects of why we wanted the Jamaasian Movement in the first place.

I guess I'll do a Then vs. Now comparison:

Now I hope you see why I despise this cereal series of items. This is NOT what we wanted when we wanted the shamans back.

Honestly, maybe if shamans were never reintroduced for adventures, and if the legacy of the myths and legends remained a secret only hinted at when Mira rose out of the Sarepia Forest fire pit, Animal Jam would be much better than it is now.

Because this cereal couch is only a symptom of the disease that plagues AJ: lack of creativity, and a lack of understanding that ANIMAL JAM IS A GAME ABOUT ANIMALS, MEETING FRIENDS, AND LEARNING ABOUT NATURE. TRADING IS FUN, BUT IT IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE A GAME ALL ABOUT ITEMS AND CONSUMERISM. 

Bottom line: just because we have Alphas, doesn't mean we don't still need the Jamaasian Movement. AJHQ still needs to listen, because AJ is more than just a game.

While Snowyclaw left AJ Spirit, she started the Animal Jam Archives: an archive of images and media from Animal Jam, along with occasional update posts.

This site is a great resource, but it hasn't reached the same value as Animal Jam Spirit, because it doesn't have much of a commenter community. Snowyclaw herself doesn't post, and the posts that are published are professional, but not very engaging in tone. 

I miss Snowyclaw a whole lot. She was one of the most engaging bloggers, and I think I feel the same as her about how Animal Jam is more than a game. 

I was going to go through every blog I remember in this post, but this one has been so long and I have stuff to do, so expect part 2 the day after tomorrow.

See you in Jamaa~