The Popularity of MySpace - Essay Example

Introduction MySpace.com has revolutionized interpersonal communication by enabling people to reach out and expand their social networks online in a way that was never before possible. The popularity of MySpace.com has quickly made it the premier social networking website, and has catapulted into the mainstream a new genre of internet social communication tied to establishment of individual web pages to which the pages of others are linked. Instant messaging and other forms of online chat are arguably pass, as this new medium enables users to convey far more intimate and personalized information about themselves to which anyone with a MySpace account has access. MySpace.com enables friends to communicate with one another, as well as to reach out and make new friends. It truly represents a new generation in interpersonal communication and establishes a model for how the power of the internet can be leveraged to bring social networking to a whole new level. People are able to learn about others in a way they never before would have imagined. They can choose to engage with others based on a heightened level of knowledge and information that was rarely available prior to the advent of MySpace.com. Interpersonal communication has accomplished no less than enabling civilization as we know it to exist. It has evolved and advanced over millennia in order to adapt to ever changing socialization needs. Today's society is driven by technology. The ultimate destination for interpersonal communication is arguably a kind of networked culture in which the thoughts and ideas of each person are readily available to every other person. The power of the internet is essential to that end. MySpace.com is one of the pioneers in leveraging internet technology to make a giant leap toward the kind of networked social circle that is likely to be the most prevalent form of interpersonal interaction in the future. What is it MySpace.com enables users to create their own web page containing blogs that describe their interests. It facilitates meeting friends with similar interests by allowing them to send e-mails through the site, join interest groups, and rate one another. Users can customize pages by adding photos, colors, designs and personal information. They can connect with others who share similar interests by joining groups based on preferences. For example, there are groups relating to religion, sports, food, nightlife and many other interests. MySpace's music interest groups have been the site of song premiers by such artists as Madonna, Coldplay, Neil Diamond and Depeche Mode. The site has become so popular that it receives more hits than eBay and Google. The traffic generated by the site has made it sought after by advertisers, with mass-marketers such as Target placing ads on the site, and new motion pictures being promoted there. Its tremendous popularity is a testament to the extent to which the site has filled a void in modern interpersonal communication in the technological age. This type of online networked social interaction solution has become an important outlet for communication. The anonymity of the internet has caused some problems when it comes to usage and application of services like MySpace. Teens often post photographs of themselves, as well as detailed personal information that could put them in danger. There have been reports of sexual predators trolling the site for potential victims; and investigations into sexual assaults that have occurred where teens have met the alleged perpetrators on MySpace. The site has caused great concern among parents who have observed indiscrete postings by their own and other children that contain provocative photos and personal details that could put their children at risk. MySpace has cats a spotlight on the risks of interpersonal communication in the age of the internet. How can it be observed Observation of MySpace.com has become a major concern for many parents, who have seen first hand the dangers the site may pose to unwitting children. While MySpace does have some rules and guidelines controlling the content of postings, there are many pages on the site that contain pictures and information that some would find alarming. Therefore, observation for purposes of protecting minors is imperative for many parents. From a wider perspective, MySpace.com should be observed as a relatively new form of interpersonal communication. The format it offers for communication is novel and extremely popular, leveraging a mix of more traditional e-mail with web page publishing and design to come up with an entirely new vehicle for people to express themselves to one another. The implications of this revolutionary means of communication can best be hypothesized based on a thorough review of those features on the website itself. In order to observe MySpace.com, it would be advisable to actually set up a profile and log in as a member. All of the features and tools offered by the site would not be readily apparent unless a person were to actually become a member of the site, which is free to join because the website makes its revenue off of advertising. Once a member, it will be possible to utilize the tools available to design one's own page, and to view the pages that others have put up. Browsing the sites that have been set up by others, connecting to others by getting yourself added to their list of "friends," and reading and responding to the messages others send in response to your own profile would go a long way toward acclimating oneself to the site and truly understanding the unique way it acts as a tool of interpersonal communication. How is MySpace important in every day life Upon a thorough observation of the website, it becomes clear why MySpace has quickly become one of the most popular sites on the internet. The ease with which users can share information about themselves with virtually the entire world, and view similar information about others, has made it a vehicle for interacting with long time friends in a novel way, while expanding one's social network to new friends worldwide instantaneously. MySpace has no less than revolutionized the process of global interpersonal communication, making it possible for people in remote geographic areas to come together in social interaction on a level that never before would have been possible. MySpace is important in every day life because it has come to be relied upon by so many people all over the world as a tool to share their thoughts, feelings and personal information; and to relate to others on a whole new level. It has become integral to the regular course of interpersonal communication, being depended upon by many people as a tool for making sure people receive the information they want or need in order to make educated decisions about whom to interact with in a personal and even professional context. The site is quite simply the new e-mail. For those who initially doubted the importance of e-mail in every day life, there is little reason to believe that any of them would continue to do so today. MySpace is an evolution of basic e-mail, and therefore cannot be doubted as an equally important successor. Speak with nearly any high school or college student today, and the importance of MySpace in their every day life will become crystal clear. These young people have grown to depend heavily on the social networking, and information and knowledge sharing capabilities offered by the site. A life without MySpace as a medium for sharing thoughts, feelings and ideas with their closest friends and most remote acquaintances alike would be quite different to say the least. Interest in MySpace What interests me most about this topic is the potential for MySpace to really redefine the way in which people have interacted throughout the information age and prior to it. I envision a world in the not-to-distant future in which computers and the internet have so linked each individual to every other individual worldwide that there will be a virtual global "front porch" in which people will regularly interact with their neighbors, who are the people around the world who are also plugged in to the network. Back in the days before cable television, people would often sit out on their front porches in the evening after work and communicate directly with their neighbors. It was relatively unheard of for people not to know their neighbors unless they or the neighbors were unusually reclusive. Neighbors would get to know each other, would feel comfortable discussing the issues and concerns of the day with one another, and would watch out for each other's interests. Many have lamented that the impact of television has been to draw people off of their front porches in the evenings and into their homes in order to stare passively at the "glowing box" in their living room. The result has been a substantial decline in the intimacy of neighbors with one another. Today, it is not unheard of for neighbors to be complete strangers, even after living in on the same street, or even next door, for several years. The promise of computers, the internet, and specifically MySpace, is to reverse that social shift inward. While it is still probable that physical neighbors will be relatively unfamiliar with one another, tools like MySpace have made people want to connect with each other again. The risk, however, is the lack of physical interaction and communication in favor of a virtual interaction in which some degree of anonymity is prevalent. The question is whether the quality of virtual interpersonal communication can ever be as high as the traditional "front porch" interaction when anonymity is a factor. Anonymity is certainly a major factor contributing to the controversy over MySpace.com. Anonymity provides a cloak for people who would try to utilize the site to make themselves appear to be someone they are not. It also offers a false sense of security to unwitting or nave people who are willing to publish indiscrete details about themselves for the entire world to view. MySpace is extremely controversial for this reason. The openness and perceived safety of virtual social interaction within the confines of one's own home has inevitably been abused by some perpetrators to try and prey on vulnerable people. Use of the service has been banned by many institutions serving young people, from schools to libraries to community centers, on the basis that it facilitates inappropriate behavior online for young people. The site is regularly investigated by law enforcement agencies due to the proclivity of sexual predators utilizing the site to identify potential victims. Clearly the strengths of MySpace are also its weaknesses. Without the freedom of users to post their personal information and try to connect with other users who share similar interests, the site would not fulfill its purpose as a new medium that will take interpersonal communication into the future. However, that same freedom, openness, and ease of interpersonal connection presents a hazard as those who seek to take advantage of it in order to promote their ill intentions. Ultimately, it seems that the key is educating users about the dangers of being too open with strangers, even in an environment that seems safe and benign on its face. Allowing freedom and openness does not depend on keeping information about potential dangers from end users. What would I like to learn about this topic As clear as MySpace is to the observer who takes the time to sign up as a user and peruse various postings, there are still some things to learn. For example, it would be very interesting to find out which celebrities maintain a MySpace page. To be sure, the extent to which a product or service is adopted by a large number of celebrities is indicative of how trendy it is and whether it is likely to remain in vogue for a long time. I would also like to learn different ways in which MySpace pages have been utilized. I have heard that some professionals put the URL for their MySpace page on their business cards. It would be interesting to see those pages and determine whether they are useful as a professional tool. Certainly, a broader application of MySpace that extends from a personal to a professional use case would also be indicative of the extent to which it is likely to be integrated into the future of interpersonal communication. Finally, I would like to learn about plans for future enhancement of MySpace. I have heard that there are plans for joint ventures with other internet powerhouses like Google to offer a new range of features and functionality to MySpace users. Certainly, as with any other product or service, MySpace will need to be dynamic and innovative with its service if it hopes to maintain its current dominance for the long haul. Such cool developments as mobile access, integration with other commonly used applications, and enhanced abilities to identify and reach out to "friends" who share common interests would go a long way toward keeping the service from becoming stale and keeping current and new users engaged in and excited about MySpace.com. Conclusion MySpace.com has set a new standard for interpersonal communication in the internet age and promises to redefine the ways in which people communicate. The service has made it possible for people to create their own personalized web pages and utilize them to communicate with one another, facilitating a broad virtual social network. The speed with which MySpace has gained immense popularity is indicative of its effectiveness in filling a previously unrecognized need in modern interpersonal communication. Even before MySpace, the internet had already shrunk our world through instant multimedia communications that have made large distances between people irrelevant. MySpace has taken this a step further by blending the traditional tools of web page publishing and e-mail to create a new vehicle for people to express themselves to each other and to the world. Users do not need to know anything about web design, yet are able to create pages containing graphics and multimedia that express individual preferences. These pages quickly become part of a broad network of "friends" as other users' pages link up based on common interests and communication. This open and free forum for expression and interpersonal communication has raised concerns regarding the online safety of young people. As with any other venue in which freedom is allowed, there are people who would abuse that freedom. That being said, the solution is not to limit the freedom but to educate those who seek to appropriately utilize the service about the dangers. This kind of danger is the main obstacle to MySpace becoming the fulfillment of a virtual personal communication network of the future. Read More