Salt of the Earth
Don’t anyone dare call me an “early adopter,” because last night, I signed myself up on Facebook for the first time. I joined up mostly because some of my coworkers are on there, and I was inspired by Michael Porter’s Social Software Showcase presentation. I also liked Facebook’s clean, basic look, and thought it made a pleasant alternative to MySpace’s cluttered, noisy gaudiness. I’d decided against signing back up on MySpace, even though some friends and family members are there, because pages there generally look too flashy and out of control.
And then I read danah boyd’s essay “Viewing American class divisions through Facebook and MySpace.” It provides some really good food for thought and has made me take a step back and look at both social sites and at myself. I haven’t come to any conclusions yet, I may never come to any conclusions, but it’s got me thinking.
UPDATE: danah boyd’s essay has made the BBC.
June 25th, 2007 at 7:05 pm
Did you notice in that article that it is not based on any research? It was mostly just what the author thought was taking place.
Maybe the structure of Facebook makes it appear more euridite?
June 25th, 2007 at 7:26 pm
The last two paragraphs are all about how much research danah did, including field research, and she’s done a lot of research and cogitating on social software networks in the past. In fact, I don’t know of anyone who has written and talked about social software networks as much as she has. I think her credentials are solid, and she definitely knows a lot more about social software networks than I do.
June 25th, 2007 at 7:30 pm
Further thoughts: I do think there’s more than just Facebook’s structure going on. The history and original targets of Facebook and MySpace were very different. Hence, different people–and different classes–using them.
June 25th, 2007 at 9:28 pm
Ah, with the facebook apps, facebook pages are getting to be almost as unbearably ugly as MySpace. Almost.
June 25th, 2007 at 9:39 pm
Well, that’s what happens when you let anyone in and allow them to build. There goes the neighborhood.
June 26th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
Well, I suppose people who really thought class divisions wouldn’t find a way into online networks was pretty seriously kidding themselves. And thus, yes, I am an upper middle class white person who went to a fancy college, and yes, I am on Facebook, because yes, I do think it’s not as ugly.
C’est la guerre.
June 26th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
Upwardly Mobile Hegemonic Teen Opts For Facebook Account
“It’s so gaudy, immature, and middle school,” says Hegemonic Teen. “I prefer the clean look of Facebook. It’s so much more mature. MySpace is so lame.”
Yeah.