Facebook v. Myspace (Thing 18)

I already have both Facebook and Myspace accounts, but they are personal sites I use for communicating with friends, and I don’t feel comfortable sharing my links here.

Myspace is already a thing of the past for most social network users. The common belief is that Myspace pages are used to sell products and promote bands, and Myspace friend requests are almost always someone trying to get you to promote their band for free or catch your interest in adult services. As both a Facebook and Myspace user, I see far more adult entertainment spam on Myspace than I have yet on Facebook.

While some younger users feel that Facebook is going to be the next Myspace let-down now that anyone can join, it still gets heavy use. Since I see Flagler College students’ use of campus computers in the library, I can gauge how much time is spent on Facebook versus Microsoft Word.

I like Facebook better than Myspace because of the tools it brings together. I can watch my friends’ activities and updates as they scroll across my home page in real time, I can check and see who is online at that moment and chat with them in real time, and I can join groups that express my interests.

Groups that I join are often created by my friends regarding an upcoming event, where I get requests for social club meetings that are coming up. I also seek out and join political groups that reflect my concerns, especially during this past presidential election. It was probably pointless to say “Christine supports this presidential candidate,” but at least I felt like I was doing something.

Ultimately, Facebook has been the social meeting ground that Myspace tried clumsily to attempt. Myspace required blogs to broadcast information, and posting notes to friends was so cumbersome that it took days to have a simple online conversation. Facebook is probably on the verge of becoming obsolete as its newer better replacement rolls out, but, for now, it’s the place to be.