Large numbers of my friends that used to update their LJ constantly now use FB instead, one of the main reasons for LJs decline as a personal journalling site is that FB is easier to use as a chronicle-of-life/keep intouch site.

Back when Denise was workign at LJ she was involved in the usability project, some of the results of that, especially for new users, was horrible. That got completely sidetracked and it looks like they're now back on track at making it more user friendly.

Facebook did a lot to close to kill off the non-fandom personal use of LJ.