Keeping a diary to record facts, opinions and experiences has been a popular pastime for centuries. In the past 10 years, keeping an online diary has replaced paper diaries for millions of people. An online journal can take the form of a very private journal that is accessible only to the person who keeps it. 

Keeping a private, personal online journal can be done with a number of sites that provide free online journals. These sites have privacy settings that allow the journal to be kept viewable only by the person who writes it. This is a convenient way to update a journal as often as you choose without taking up space in your home with paper journals and without losing the paper copy or having it fall into the wrong hands. It's safe, private and fun.

Sites like LiveJournal also allow privacy settings that will allow selected people to view the diary if the writer chooses. There is also the option to keep the online diary completely open to the public and searchable from the major search engines. These diaries are often blogs that feature photos, video and copy to make them a record of whatever the writer chooses. 

Online journaling, like keeping any type of diary, is a great way to relieve stress, express creativity and create lasting memories. The large number of free online diary sites provides an easy way to create a diary, design it any way you like and to avoid the cost of paper blank journals. It also provides and easy way to access the journal from anywhere at any time, without having to remember to bring a paper journal along. 

For those who want other people to be able to read their thoughts and experiences, an online diary provides an opportunity that a paper diary simply can't. It brings the world into your online journal and allows them to see any part of it whenever they wish.