I was somewhat of a late-adopter when it came to the social networking craze. I didn’t really “get” it at first. In college, my friends and I made fun of people with Friendster accounts and we definitely didn’t even know what MySpace was. Aren’t sites like that for teenagers? I was 23 before I finally caved. The profile I created started partly as a joke, and partly because I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I quickly became addicted.
Two years later, I have MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn…the list goes on. Each serves its own purpose. Adding networking capabilities to any site instantly makes it more fun, more interesting and way more addictive (see: Flickr, iLike, Goodreads). I want to know who my best friend is talking to, what my cousin did last weekend and what books my co-workers are reading. I want to share my latest set of pictures with out-of-state family . I want to see pictures of the new baby a girl I went to high school with just had. I want to do all these things and the brilliant thing is that I actually can. I am part of a generation of voyeuristic and super-connected social networkers and we just can’t get enough.
Amidst all this networking craziness, it has been interesting to watch the developments of MySpace and Facebook. Specifically, how they compete and which is better. I have historically been firmly on Team MySpace. Unfortunately, I am starting to feel a little too old for it. MySpace definitely has a slightly youthful or less mature reputation attached to it, and as the youngest Pop Art employee, I felt for a while that having a profile gave me even more of a “I just graduated from college” distinction (not exactly what I am going for in my professional life…) I cannot bring myself to delete it because it is such a wealth of entertainment, information and memories. However, I definitely don’t use it as much as I used to. True, my network is way bigger than it is on Facebook (108 friends vs. 29 friends), but I only talk to a handful of my MySpace contacts anyway. And everyone knows MySpace is more for spying on people than anything else.
I feel very differently about Facebook than I used to. When Facebook originated, it was for students only, therefore inaccessible to me, having already graduated. I eventually started one when they opened it up to everyone, but it really kind of bored me. My network wasn’t as big as it was on MySpace, and the interface lacked the fun, interactive feel that MySpace has. This is starting to change. First came the introduction of Applications—fun, usually pointless, always a bit goofy ways to interact with your friends. Send a gift, start a countdown, mark all the places you've been on a map...whatever you can think of, someone has probably created the application for it. Or is about to. Another cool thing about Facebook is how it appeals to professionals. Companies can form their own networks or groups. It is a great way to connect with people you’ve met at work-related functions or find out what networking events are coming up (real life networking events—the kind with face-to-face contact with other human beings). This week alone, I have acquired five new co-worker contacts on Facebook. What makes this even more interesting is the recent announcement that Facebook is going to start letting people separate their personal and professional networks. Prefer that your boss NOT see those pictures of you in costume at that Halloween party? Problem solved. These changes are what have me logging onto Facebook more often than Myspace these days, and they are what will keep me around in the long-run.
I figured that by the time I reached my mid-20s, I would have outgrown social networking sites. However, my participation has only increased. As our world becomes even more connected, it turns out we don’t have to outgrow our favorite networking sites. The sites are just growing up with us, and I am perfectly happy with that.