I’ve been on MySpace.com since 2004. The concept is great but the design was and it still is awful. I often wonder how did MySpace succeed in this Web 2.0 world?
The truth is, a lot of people reading my blog have no idea what Web 2.0 even is and I can’t exactly define what it really is. Here comes an acronym. The gist of Web 2.0 is about a new way of thinking when it comes to the web. It means a separation of content from design; ubiquitous deployment of content available on multiple platforms such as your computer, T.V. and hand held devices. It’s really about the user experience in my opinion and thinking about what the user wants. In other words, re-thinking the way we show content.
How does this bring me back to MySpace? I think MySpace is genius. It’s probably one of the best sites we’ll see in the 00’s.
The problem I have with MySpace is the abuse and the spam. A lot of people take advantage of the medium and can be whomever they want. It’s hard to tell who’s real and who’s not. So I’ve compiled a few simple tips.
My bottom line is be cautious and don’t trust everyone you meet on-line. I love the web and the fact that anything you want to know about is right at your fingertips. But it’s still very much the wild west when it comes to giving out your personal info.
Entry Filed under: Personal
5 Comments
1. Ron… | September 9th, 2006 at 1:51 am
Laressa,
I admit that I have never been to Myspace (but I have read Men Are From Mars and Women From Venus) and only just signed up for Technorati. Most of what I am learning about the website design and blogging is from the different links you have provided. While I have learned a great deal, I am still a babe in the woods on this stuff. Your suggestions are wise and I will keep them in mind.
2. Yolanda… | September 19th, 2006 at 4:19 pm
I don’t do myspace, but I came accross your site after visiting the website you created bumpenya.com
I wanted to let you know that I really like your page. I am a beginner web designer, and I have only created one site. My major is accounting and my MINOR is web design, so I am trying to finish my major before continuing my minor and I really hate it because I miss my web design classes and all that I was learning in them! I need 7 classes to finish Accounting and 14 to finish Web.
Anywho, just wanted to let you know that I admire your page and the work you do!
3. New Potty… | October 21st, 2006 at 10:51 am
I’ve just started using MySpace. In many ways, the pages there are the worst I’ve seen. They remind me of the home pages on Geocities in the early 1990’s. Furthermore, the Myspace site often gives errors, or nothing at all. But the sheer numbers of users there makes it a surreal experience. There are over 12o million there at the moment, and there are 200,000 new users daily. The ability to run shoulders with the famous and nearly-famous makes it an amazing community. In fact, with this volume of users, its amazing that the site works at all!
Anyway, yes you are right, caution is required. There are far too many scams and spams happening there.
Peace! Keep up the creativity. :-)
4. Roger… | December 1st, 2006 at 8:24 am
Anyone else having bother with myspace or is it just my pc?
Last couple of days it seems it wont let me download any song from anywhere.
Anyone having same bother - or anyone how to sort it?
5. Thomas… | June 7th, 2007 at 11:04 am
Like most everyone out there on the Internet, I once had a MySpace profile to help (hopefully) promote my blog. Feedback was great, but much like your situation, most friends were just concerned with promoting their garage bands or model portfolios, or self-promoting (whoring, I think they call it) to get as many friends as they can for no apparent reason. The latter must be due to insecurities. Last month, I go so fed up with the constant site errors, spam, and the long list of other flaws that I decided to delete my profile, comments and all, and just be done with it altogether. Shortly after I shut down my web-site and left a note stating my reasons. As for MySpace, I’ve lost faith in that site getting any better. They refuse to hire programmers that have a better understanding of their security flaws or even redesign their web-site since they’ve been using the same design since opening day. It’s hard for me the swallow - the most popular social network on the Internet doesn’t turn out to be that great at all. I still wonder how it became so big, too. I’d recommend Facebook over MySpace any day.