If there’s one thing Tumblr does well, it’s that tag searches and reblogs make it fairly easy to find people to follow. In comparison, a common complaint I see often about Dreamwidth is that people unfamiliar with the format of LJ/DW find it hard to get “out there”. It’s not exactly like existing in a void, but you’re definitely not instantly connected the moment you start posting.
The key, similar to Tumblr, is exploring.
When you first make your journal, DW will suggest that you add a few interests to your profile. If the interest isn’t unique to you, it’ll turn into a search link when you view your profile, so you can find other users and communities who share it. Even if you don’t have a particular interest added, you can still look around using the search bar. (Example!)
Or, hey, curious to know what’s being posted to Dreamwidth in general? There’s the Latest Things page for you. (Keep in mind: you will see literally everything, depending on what and who are posting publicly, including unfiltered porn, spam, huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge images and posts.)
Friending memes play a part in finding other people. Essentially, someone sets up a post, you comment with some details and hopefully that way you gain some new friends. However, they tend to be rare and largely depend on where they’re posted/shared for people to find them. Add Me communities like these serve as an alternative.
Speaking of which: communities! The official FAQ gives a good overview of their purpose, but basically this is where most of the group discussion on DW happens. You might be familiar with them via kinkmemes. Some people even use them as separate art/writing blogs, as you can do on Tumblr.
As previously mentioned, you can search for communities by interest (WHICH IS WHY I can never emphasize enough how important it is to add interests when you make a new community). Alternatively, there’s the official community promo community (and others). Or, you can make your own!
I won’t lie: a lot of communities you come across will be inactive, since Dreamwidth kind of lost out when the majority of fandom shifted to Tumblr. A lot of people see this and try to start new ones, especially now, when it seems like there’s a growing need for more organized fandom than Tumblr can provide. I still highly encourage you to at least give the old communities a try, rather than letting them stay dead, as seeing someone else post may encourage others out of the woodworks. (I have seen it work, although with varying degrees of success.) The FAQ even has steps for you to consider if you think a community has been abandoned. But whatever works for you!
Phew. That should just about cover everything. Hope it helps!
Giving this post another bump again since people are reblogging it a lot right now.
Brinens and Things - Tumblr Mirror 