Critical Analysis of MySpace & Facebook

Juliana Recino
4/22/10
Business Computer Applications, Mr. Elsesser
Period 3

“Critical Analysis of MySpace and Facebook”

Chances are you've heard of Facebook and MySpace. Maybe you already have an account; between the two, they claim over 165 million user accounts.Maybe you've seen the many news articles on social networks as changes in each service raise new concerns about privacy and security. Or maybe you've noticed that our students, lawyers, public users, fellow librarians, and other patrons increasingly rely on them to connect to their friends, associates, and professional contacts. Whatever your connection, MySpace and Facebook have dominated the cyber social network and they have both changed communications today.
MySpace and Facebook are more alike than not. They both connect people and promote these connections and networks. Searching for former classmates and colleagues is easy.Users of both services may leave public messages for their contacts - called "friends' on both services. Both allow users to display their identity by joining interest groups and experimenting with add-on applications. They also provide privacy options that give users some control over which parts of their profiles are publically visible. Finally, both services are completely free to users and earn their revenue from advertising.
The services' differences are what drive users to prefer one over the other. The most obvious difference between MySpace and Facebook is in the format and appearance of user profiles. MySpace allows more control, but this control often makes the pages appear mediocre. Facebook profiles are more uniform. Each service has its own way of forming networks, and each offers its own add-on applications or widgets with some useful, but most just for fun.
MySpace profiles, or user home pages, usually include the user's name and contact information; a headline; interests (such as favorite books, movies, and music); hometown; education and employment details; religion, sexual orientation, and political views; links to the user's uploaded photos and videos; a blog internal to MySpace; a list of the user's friends in the network; and a comments section, where friends can write messages and embed pictures and video. Users can also send each other private messages or blast bulletin announcements that will be sent to all of
Facebook profiles contain most of the same basic elements as MySpace profiles - personal preferences, interests, picture, etc. Unlike MySpace, the culture and template at Facebook encourage the use of real and full names. Instead of a blog, users post notes and links. The Facebook "status," feature, where users note they're doing or feeling at any particular moment, is popular. Instead of comments, Facebook profiles feature a "wall" for exchanging public notes. Users can also privately message one or more friends. Facebook's profiles include a news feed. Controversial when it was first introduced, users are now treated to a random list of actions their friends on the network have recently taken as soon as they sign in. All Facebook profiles have a uniform and simple design: black text and blue links on a white background, with different sections lightly outlined. In May 2007,
To date, at least 12 law libraries and 19 law firms have Facebook pages. These pages provide basic information about the services they provide and an easy way for Facebook users to contact them. Some use add-ons like the Worldcat and search boxes. Users can also become "fans" of the libraries and firms and the institutions can send updates directly to their fans. The pages feature even allows libraries to use some of its specialty applications. The page for the Harvard Law School Library, for example, uses Bookshare to highlight items in its collection. Law firms, meanwhile, have been creating their own networks. As discussed in our last article, these networks often include dozens of attorneys, staff, and firm alumni. They can be used for legal research education, to promote firm-wide events, and to connect lawyers among diverse locations.
The user divide is not the only issue which has caught media attention. Both Facebook and MySpace request a great deal of detailed personal information, information which can be easily abused. This information can also be bogus, as MySpace users were reminded recently when an adult used a fake profile to harass a teen girl who later committed suicide as a result. Moreover, private information is often not as private as users assume it should be. Facebook users have created at least two groups demanding that their private pictures remain private and should not become the intellectual property of Facebook itself. Librarians who wish to use MySpace and/or Facebook to promote services should be mindful of these issues whenever using social networks.
While many libraries and employers have begun to see some of the networking possibilities of MySpace and Facebook, others have been slow to embrace them. Some corporate and academic departments have blocked access to Facebook and MySpace because of their impacts on bandwidth and productivity. This can be distractions to school which can be a negative about these websites, or also inappropriate information/pictures can be posted that can jeopardize reputations and future jobs. There is also some debate about whether librarians, teachers, and faculty should be promoting their services and trying to connect with students on social networking sites. Some students view Facebook as their private playground and prefer not to have their instructors in that space, finding such interaction creepy or weird. However despite these issues, the current trend is moving away from blocking.
The popularity and increasing versatility of social networking sites over the last few years means they are here to stay. Studies have shown a strong connection between typical college orientation timing (and email account distribution) and Facebook account creation rates. Users who sign up for social networks during their high school and college years are building networks containing hundreds of friends and acquaintances that they will carry with them into law school and their legal careers. They'll be using these networks as resources and, even if we're not ready to dive into social networking ourselves, we will need to understand exactly how these resources work because of all the benefits and changes that they continuously keep adding to our society.

Work Sited
http://techcrunch.com/2009/01/13/social-networking-will-facebook-overtake-myspace-in-the-us-in-2009/
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1675244,00.html