Rapture

So let's take a look at three of these so-called "social networks": we'll try the ever-popular MySpace, the more refined, gentlemanly Facebook, and the horrible, dirty cur that is Bebo.

We know from Little Miss Boyd that there are distinct class associations with Facebook and Myspace. I won't even ascribe a class to Bebo. If you called it low-class, that would be insulting the low-class. It really is a scumhole. Facebook is supposedly the sort of mainstream, clean site. God forbid. Myspace, Boyd said, was for the edgier types. I think maybe just the types that like prefab html and gaudy color clashes.

Although each site developed with slightly different protocols about how to network people together, the trend has been towards each adopting one another's methods. After a feature has been integrated successfully and received well,

Myspace has several unique features. One big one is the Bulletin board, through which people may shout out to their network about various things. This is poorly implemented and used primarily for spamming stuff that no one really needs to hear about. Although this is also accomplished through apps in Facebook, Myspace allows users to rank their top friends, which is useful because it does not organize friends in any sort of network scheme. Instead, a user's friends are listed in simple list fashion, and may reach in the hundreds of thousands. This impairs actual friend networking- no way exists to organize friends by say high school or college. In comparison to Facebook, social interaction is impaired; users cannot post on their own walls and there is no way to organize events. Groups are subscribed to but people rarely utilize this function for actual group activity. However Myspace has extensive support for bands to share their music and has been used for this purpose. Perhaps this adds to its edgy appeal.

Facebook is very focused on the networks by which people are organized. Networks allow control over privacy settings by blocking out people from networks that you have never even met. Social functions may be arranged via events and Groups with common interests can use this ability to come together. This function is actually utilized; parties, socials, fundraisers and other events are often made through it. The picture tagging function records these events and albums document a person's travels. Walls allow public interaction and messages private. Privacy settings are extensive. A person's profile is highly dynamic and can show what they're doing at the moment, what their interests are, and other personality aspects. Important to note is the presence of applications, which can expand the functionality of Facebook almost infinitely.

Bebo is apparently the third most popular social networking site; still it only occupies about 1% of social network users in total. Bebo allows a lot of the functionality that Facebook apps accomplish automatically. Apparently users can share quizzes, youtube videos, and games. HTML skins are available to customize a user's page. Authors can share books and bands music; people can subscribe to the bands as groupies. A whiteboard exists to draw upon. Users may blog just as on Myspace and have people comment on it. Other standard functions exist, such as messaging one another and minimal grouping implementation.

Edit: FORGOT TO REBUILD MY SITE. Whoops.