More on Myspace vs Facebook

In the last post I touched on the idea that there are some obvious social differences between Myspace and Facebook. A recent article on the BBC website quoted Danah Boyd as describing 'technology as mirroring social action'. This has been linked to issues, such as, class and wealth. In the UK, Facebook faciliatates the same role as a more distinguished form of social networking. This could be because Facebook traditionally starts with an offline community that is typically centered around a University. From here the social practices of the university are mediated into the online exchanges. This is a completely different social arrangement to Myspace users as there is no sense of shared belonging that is being mediated into the present social engagement. For Facebook, there is the overwhelming presence of offline repercussion of presenting a inaccurate online identity. Perhaps this is how images of wealth and class become projected in Facebook profiles.

However, some authours have represented the two different styles of networking as evidence that Myspace is growing weaker. As of yet, I am undecided about this distinction. Instead, I tend to favour the idea that Myspace and Facebook merely fulfill different social roles. Facebook mediates that image of the institution through the discourse people use online. Exactly, what we say, is driven towards achieving a particular identity. In this current climate many individuals are interested towards authenticating a link with the image of the university or the offline community from which the online exchanges began.

I know in my recent research I have also found Myspace to mediate offline community actions in the same way. It should be clear that this is not an opportunity to decide whether Myspace is good and facebook is bad, but a chance to reflect on the idea that different form of social networking reflect difference aspects of society. It is definitely no accident that Facebook is now being tipped as the new way of doing business. I imagine for those who are trying to gain employment through their Facebook profile there is going to be a high level of identity work constructed in the organisation of the profile and mediated through the discourse.