this whole facebook myspace thing

[arguchik]

so...i received an email today, from a friend who has "added (me) as a friend" on facebook. i find this difficult to understand, because i have yet to open a facebook account (or a myspace account, for that matter). i have several questions for y'all:

1. what's the status of the facebook vs. myspace rivalry? is it cooler to have an account with one or the other? or is it sensible to hedge one's bets by having both? i seem to recall reading something about a stratification happening between the two big social networking services, along class and racial lines, so that's why i'm asking. i have no idea how credible that analysis was; i read the article cursorily at best.

2. should i open an account on one of these services, myself? myspace? facebook? both? neither? this is different from question 1 because question 1 is framed as an academic inquiry; this question is framed as a request for personal advice. if it makes any difference...i plan to spend approximately zero time either taking artificially posed "natural" digital pictures of myself to upload to my profile, or crafting the profile itself. (sigh) but of course, you know what they say about the best laid plans, and the relationship between good intentions and the road to hell, and all that. i.e. i would probably spend more time on this crap than i'd prefer. i've got better ways to spend my time (isn't that a line from a liz phair song?). but if i'm going to spend time, how do you think i should spend it?

so here it comes...my very first LJ poll:

[Poll #1047916]

Comments

[the-kender.livejournal.com]

I like Facebook because you can opt to import blogs from outside sources, like LJ. So I can post here and it'll end up on my Notes in Facebook. I like the manageability of Facebook's photos, the groups, the more solid forms of networking and not dealing with pseudonyms and screen names the entire time. I like that you can have seperate networks based on school email addresses and I like it's usability all around. The addition of other applications within Facebook has been pretty entertaining as well, but that's something you have to see to understand. I think Facebook's user-friendly setup outweighs MySpace's popularity.

[arguchik.livejournal.com]

hmmm. interesting--i hadn't thought about importing my LJ to a social networking site. i think because i like to think of my LJ as anonymous, even though pretty much everyone who reads it is also at least somewhat acquainted with me in person and probably also knows my name.

well...i'll check out both of them, for sure.

[glaucon.livejournal.com]

both are quite lame.

myspace is probably a front for the NSA or some less publicized agency. there's a shit ton of spam on there. I spent a total of about 20 seconds creating my profile on there and don't intend to ever spend any more than that.

facebook seems to be more high school and college age people. there are people our age, of course, but I don't think we're the target demographic. there have actually been some issues with students (including some at UW) getting in trouble with university administration, faculty, or prospective employers due to things posted by or about them on there. your students might look for you. they might be somewhat paranoid if they find you.

myspace, on the other hand, has ratings of you by former students.

there are a lot of bands on myspace. it seems well designed for them.

I'm hardly an expert on either site, but based on my limited exploration of both, my acquaintances who use either or both, and my reading of stories in the Daily, the PI and the AP wire, I'd say the thing about them dividing along racial or class lines is probably bullshit. except inasmuch as I think there has been a growing amount of ghettoization and balkanization on the WWW in recent times. or maybe it's not that recent. maybe it's just been growing steadily more noticeable since the september that never ended.

I have accounts on both and several other social networking sites. I pretty much only have them so that current friends will leave me the fuck alone about joining them and so that long-lost friends can find me if they really put their mind to it.

YMMV.

[arguchik.livejournal.com]

i will probably pick your brains about this some more. on what other social networking sites do you have accounts?

the thing about my former students ranking me freaks me out. i don't want to see that stuff--even if they say really positive things about me, they are doing so in a forum where they aren't expecting me to be "listening in." and i'm not sure i'd want them "listening in" on me, either.

i have seen the stuff about students being punished for stuff they post on facebook/myspace; and have been following a couple of discussions about it, actually.

[rojonoir.livejournal.com]

FWIW - http://www.myspace.com/seattleiww

I have a facebook account but that was just because a friend posted some party pics there and I happened to click the join link and joining was as easy as not. Not sure if I'll go back. I have a bunch of friends on myspace, but the interface just looks annoying, so I don't know if I'll create one there.

[arguchik.livejournal.com]

what annoys you about the interface? just curious. i haven't poked around either site too much yet.

[rojonoir.livejournal.com]

From what I've seen, it just looks difficult to keep track of conversations. The comments section shows comments from other people to you. If you want to respond, you go to their page and add a comment there. Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't even see how three people can have a conversation with each other without it being a jumbled mess. I'm also not sure how one goes about seeing what their friends are up to.

Maybe I just need to sit down with someone under 25 and see what typical usage might look like. :)

I also use LinkedIn, like someone mentioned - just professional contacts. Though I add some non-industry friends if I think they might have some potential professional contacts. Most people in the videogame industry are on it, it seems. It might prove invaluable down the road if I start considering options at places where I don't know anyone, but know someone who knows someone. I wouldn't know how many people outside of tech industries use LinkedIn, though.

Given the heavy penetration of college students on FaceBook, I imagine it would be important professionally for academics - and down the road more generally.

[evernanon.livejournal.com]

I have both and I use Facebook way more, primarily because half my grad school cohort is on there and it's a good way to keep track of what's going on in everybody's lives w/r/t the post-graduation job hunt etc. Myspace does seem way more ghetto and gaudy and Facebook is just a much cleaner interface. Facebook also does seem to have way better integration with other sites and apps. If it weren't for Facebook I probably wouldn't keep up with people that might be good contacts someday, so there is a value in it for me professionally. Don't know if that will really be true or not -- I guess it depends on whether everyone keeps it going or not. Right now, I probably log in for a minute or two every couple weeks so it's not like it takes a whole lot of my time. My profile is basically just my interest list from LJ so it didn't take a whole lot of time. So in the end, for me at least, there is definitely a net benefit.

[evernanon.livejournal.com]

PS -- I also have different uses for my different networking accounts. MySpace is purely social. Facebook is a combination of social and business -- mostly library colleagues but also some personal friends on there. LinkedIn is only for professional contacts. That seemed to make sense to me, because LinkedIn is much more job-oriented -- resumes, job history, business references. I've recently gotten a couple contact requests on LinkedIn from personal friends who I don't intend to add because I have no professional relationship to them. I hope that doesn't upset them. I would totally add them to Facebook or MySpace, I just don't think a site that seems to be about business relationships is the proper place to advertise personal friendships.

[arguchik.livejournal.com]

this also makes sense. i haven't heard of linkedin before...i'll check that out as well.

[arguchik.livejournal.com]

hmm. hadn't thought about it for professional networking. that is a good idea.

[maeveh.livejournal.com]

Thank for asking question #2. I've been contemplating creating a myspace account but just haven't gotten around to it for much the same reasons you talk about ... along with glaucon's NSA theory + my problem with Rupert Murdoch owning the company. Murdoch is a tool.

On the pro side is that a lot of Jefferson's crew have accounts + the long-lost friend's angle + the bands + a handful of other groups that I might be interested in keeping track of.

Eh ... maybe I'll just continue to ride that fence and stick with my nice, simple lj.

[arguchik.livejournal.com]

ugh. yes. murdoch is a tool.

it's probably a weirdness of mine, but i'm reluctant to set something up that identifies me by name and location, and that includes pictures (which i understand are optional, but they are also de rigeur).

[maeveh.livejournal.com]

If it's a weirdness to have something that identifies one by name and location, call me weird too. It's probably that I have a very distinctive last name ... there only one other person in the US that has the same first & last name and she's, I think, 10-15 years younger than me ... that makes me leery of letting that out on a social networking site.

Blah, I think I'll pass.

[rojonoir.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I used to be proud of all the hits I'd get googling myself. Now I'm happy there's fewer and fewer - especially old usenet posts. Though I'm pleased my 1993 post about riding unicycles down stairs is still there, and a false hit on IMDB for Zorro the Gay Blade.

[maeveh.livejournal.com]

"and a false hit on IMDB for Zorro the Gay Blade"

OMG, that's just so awesome.

[arguchik.livejournal.com]

false hit on IMDB for Zorro the Gay Blade.

ha! i don't know your real name, though, so i can't google you.

[rojonoir.livejournal.com]

A handy link for foiling google with one level of indirection:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0022627/

another one I like:
http://www.cpan.org/scripts/assorted/firsthack

[twocrows.livejournal.com]

crafters and artists use both to advertise. teachers get fired or don't get hired because of stuff on myspace and facebook. in new teacher orientation this week I was told that I could lose my job because of "innappropriate" use of myspace or facebook.

I feel safer staying away from them all together, not least of which because my students are often so caught up in them.

[alice-at-night.livejournal.com]

All I needed to know about Myspace I learned from this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1H4BylxSulg

[malafrena.livejournal.com]

And another take on myspace - Murder Murdoch by Promoe:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgz-mnhYDOE

[rojonoir.livejournal.com]

Oops - that was me - forgot to logout malafrena - didn't mean to associate her with rap music advocating killing evil rich bastards.