Myspace vs. Facebook

In the article "Social Network Site Taste Test: Myspace or Facebook?", Danah Boyd presents the very prevalent social network struggle; the battle of Myspace and Facebook. The article states that there is a clear divide between myspace users and facebook users; therefore, both find the other far less appealing. For instance, the writer states that myspace users found facebook's clean uniformity very boring and unoriginal. On the other hand, facebook users found myspace to be too cluttered and tacky. On facebook, every profile is the same for the most part. This particular social networking site follows a specific order that can be personalized with pictures, interests, and posts; however, the creativity aspect is very limited with this site. In the complete opposite direction, myspace offers a multitude of options when seeking to express one's individuality, but can often appear very disorderly and a bit gaudy or overdone. Myspace users have the option to personalize their pages beyond that of facebook users in that they can change the backgrounds and even add music to their page. While choosing a social network is completely up to the individual, the writer argues that culture plays it's role in this decision as well. The writer states that Myspace users are predominantly African American because of the "pop" nature of the website. While I don't believe this is absolutely true, I am supporting evidence for this argument. I am a Facebook user, and I've never had a myspace. I must admit that I got on facebook because my friends had that, and I never even considered getting a myspace. I do also admit that I like the clean layout of facebook and that it suits my needs in a social network.