The Good, the Bad, and the MySpace
Created | Updated Nov 7, 2005
The idea behind MySpace.com has been around as long as AOL, COMPUSERVE, and all the other services that assumed that those nerdy enough to use a computer would actually want to see the other nerds camped out behind a compuer screen 24/7. Needless to say, this was a flawed premise.
Flawed though it be, the business model quickly caught on and has "flourished," both through the instant messenging arena and "blogs." Now you too can read what every single angst-ridden teenager who has an internet connection has to say on a particular issue, and their unique problems dealing with acne, boys/girls, and the dreaded original gruesome twosome: parents.
THE GOOD: Instant messenging, e-mail.
IMing and e-mail have quickly evolved throughout the years to be the premiere form of internet communication. Instant messenging (much like the new online phone systems like Vonage and the like) allows instant (imagine that?) communication between two people who are on the same messenging system. It's like a phone call, but far more impersonal as inflection and subtlety is lost in the translation of communication to text. This can be both a good thing and a bad thing, but one that will not be evaluated here as all of the services mentioned here do the same thing. E-mail has also proven to be a valuable asset, both to personal communication and business-related communication, as it is much quicker than conventional mail, yet still retains the dignity and majesty of not allowing the user to respond INSTANTLY, and possibly even think about what they're saying.
THE BAD: Weblogs (Blogs)
Blogs have, like e-mail, been on the scene almost from the beginning. A blog is basically an online journal, where everyone can whine and complain about things, keeping all their "private thoughts" out on the internet for all to read and comment on. Blogs stayed fairly underground during the forumlative internet years, being a)small in nubmer, b)whoever wrote it had to have at least minimal knowledge of HTML and bandwidth/space to host it, and c)people with the above skills probably wouldn't waste their time with an online journal. With the rise of sites such as Livejournal, Blogger, and their ilk, everyone and their aunt now has their own online journal. Even the traditional newsmedia, whicch tends to shun "technological advancement," has been forced to start keeping blogs, thanks to rise in fame of Matt Drudge (of the Drudge Report), who once stumbled onto a rising story that no one else caught (part of the Clinton scandal), and since has a following of people who read news that he has gathered from the conventional media, as well as out-and-out misinformation. Blogs nowadays are mostly an avenue for teenagers to whine and moan about their parents, or how hard school is, and other such important tidbits that EVERYONE should be able to read.
MYSPACE
MySpace... I will tell you right off the bat, if you're looking for any signs of intelligence, MySpace is not the place to go. MySpace allows users to create a blog, and tell everyone about their pre-packaged opinion and whine about their parents, with the added bonus of allowing their friends to comment back! It's truly an awe-inspiring experience. Here is a directly lifted conversation, typifying probably 90% of those experienced on MySpace.com:
Angst Ridden Teenager's Blog entry:
I'm still grounded, But i'm working on that slowly.
I think i'm annoying my mom to the point of her wanting me to leave.
It's been really funny.
I sing non-stop loudly & play music for every situation.
She pretty much wants to kill me, And it's the funniest thing in the world.
I stole her car the other day too.
Hahaha.
Stoner-wannabe's comment:
cool you dirty whore
Emo-teen:
haha i KNEW it!
Supporting friend that no one talks to outside the internet:
first of all. if you were a waste of peoples time, im sure they wouldnt be commenting on you and yourself 129038120938 times a day, so dont say that because you're not dear.(or you just said that to make people say this...lol...anyways ill continue) haha i annoy my mom that way too...sad thing is im not grounded...i just do it for fun to annoy..i think im good at that or something...oh ya congrats on employee of the month..HHAHA lol cool deal. later doode.
Flawed though it be, the business model quickly caught on and has "flourished," both through the instant messenging arena and "blogs." Now you too can read what every single angst-ridden teenager who has an internet connection has to say on a particular issue, and their unique problems dealing with acne, boys/girls, and the dreaded original gruesome twosome: parents.
THE GOOD: Instant messenging, e-mail.
IMing and e-mail have quickly evolved throughout the years to be the premiere form of internet communication. Instant messenging (much like the new online phone systems like Vonage and the like) allows instant (imagine that?) communication between two people who are on the same messenging system. It's like a phone call, but far more impersonal as inflection and subtlety is lost in the translation of communication to text. This can be both a good thing and a bad thing, but one that will not be evaluated here as all of the services mentioned here do the same thing. E-mail has also proven to be a valuable asset, both to personal communication and business-related communication, as it is much quicker than conventional mail, yet still retains the dignity and majesty of not allowing the user to respond INSTANTLY, and possibly even think about what they're saying.
THE BAD: Weblogs (Blogs)
Blogs have, like e-mail, been on the scene almost from the beginning. A blog is basically an online journal, where everyone can whine and complain about things, keeping all their "private thoughts" out on the internet for all to read and comment on. Blogs stayed fairly underground during the forumlative internet years, being a)small in nubmer, b)whoever wrote it had to have at least minimal knowledge of HTML and bandwidth/space to host it, and c)people with the above skills probably wouldn't waste their time with an online journal. With the rise of sites such as Livejournal, Blogger, and their ilk, everyone and their aunt now has their own online journal. Even the traditional newsmedia, whicch tends to shun "technological advancement," has been forced to start keeping blogs, thanks to rise in fame of Matt Drudge (of the Drudge Report), who once stumbled onto a rising story that no one else caught (part of the Clinton scandal), and since has a following of people who read news that he has gathered from the conventional media, as well as out-and-out misinformation. Blogs nowadays are mostly an avenue for teenagers to whine and moan about their parents, or how hard school is, and other such important tidbits that EVERYONE should be able to read.
MYSPACE
MySpace... I will tell you right off the bat, if you're looking for any signs of intelligence, MySpace is not the place to go. MySpace allows users to create a blog, and tell everyone about their pre-packaged opinion and whine about their parents, with the added bonus of allowing their friends to comment back! It's truly an awe-inspiring experience. Here is a directly lifted conversation, typifying probably 90% of those experienced on MySpace.com:
Angst Ridden Teenager's Blog entry:
I'm still grounded, But i'm working on that slowly.
I think i'm annoying my mom to the point of her wanting me to leave.
It's been really funny.
I sing non-stop loudly & play music for every situation.
She pretty much wants to kill me, And it's the funniest thing in the world.
I stole her car the other day too.
Hahaha.
Stoner-wannabe's comment:
cool you dirty whore
Emo-teen:
haha i KNEW it!
Supporting friend that no one talks to outside the internet:
first of all. if you were a waste of peoples time, im sure they wouldnt be commenting on you and yourself 129038120938 times a day, so dont say that because you're not dear.(or you just said that to make people say this...lol...anyways ill continue) haha i annoy my mom that way too...sad thing is im not grounded...i just do it for fun to annoy..i think im good at that or something...oh ya congrats on employee of the month..HHAHA lol cool deal. later doode.
