Advanced Interactive Media/Other Topics/Myspace Social Networking

MySpace is a social networking website offering an interactive, user-submitted network of friends, personal profiles, blogs, groups, photos, music and videos. According to Alexa Internet, MySpace is currently the world's fifth most popular English-language website and the fifth most popular website in any language,[2] and the third most popular website in the United States, although it has topped the chart in various weeks[3] (it is possible that other websites have a greater number of unique visitors). The service has gradually gained more popularity than similar websites to achieve nearly 80 percent of visits to online social networking websites.[3] It has become an increasingly influential part of contemporary, popular culture, especially in English-speaking countries.

For a good but lengthy article on MySpace/Facebook, and their ability to endure, check out

MySpace is also a strong tool for bands and musical artists to create a following. According to an internet topic on this subject; "More than 240,000 artists of every kind -- from unsigned amateurs to international rock stars -- are using MySpace as a way to market themselves and build a fan base." It even goes on to say that successful bands like My Chemical Romance started out and gained a lot of their success and fan base solely through Myspace. 

Here is an article about the latest pursuits of MySpace. It is very interesting. Did you know that if the number of users on MySpace were turned into a world population that it would be the 11th largest country in the world? Read more here: http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/04/03/myspace-will-hold-presidential-primary/

Some of the differences between MySpace and Facebook are quite extreme. A major one is spamming and advertisements. It is impossible to log into MySpace without being horded by ads and cheesy flash games which are actually ads linking to somewhere else. Facebook, on the other hand, has an extremely clean interface with limited ads that aren't so "in your face." Another issue with MySpace is its relentless sexual ads and other things implying sex, such as a streaming video advertisement of a girl pretending to be chatting with the user.

Another difference between the two is the ability to send mass messages/emails or not. Facebook allows you to send out mass messages only to members of a group or event (that is if that person is an admin). Whereas MySpace allows you to send out "bulletins" which is basically a message you typed out, available for everyone on your friends list to see. This is a great networking/social tool to use to get a message out to mass amounts of people, which in effect, can be taken advantage of by spammers.

Though Facebook is extremely different than MySpace, it is getting progressively similar. On November 6, 2007, Facebook added a new application feature to its site. It is called Facebook Ads. The Facebook Ads allow businesses to have an application on user’s pages. It has skyrocketed and made businesses able to reach more clientele. Users get the choice of adding the applications to their own profiles. With these applications people can sell, buy, trade, and even entertain. This improvement has greatly affected and changed Facebook.

Here is the article explaining the improvements that are taking place on Facebook. http://developers.facebook.com/news.php?blog=1&story=52