SNS

I found the Boyd and Ellison article on social networking websites very interesting.  I've been mindlessly using numerous of these websites for years and never analyzed how it has become a staple for life today.  There has almost been an evolution, with such additions as friend lists, comments, walls, etc.  It seems that social networking is continuing to move forward, with websites that fulfill multiple purposes and the ability to connect one website to another.

Friendster, MySpace, Purevolume, and Xanga are only a few websites that have gone obsolete due to other sites having the same uses.  While it may be easier to have everything in one place, my personal preference was having many sites for a specific purpose.  While somethings have improved, I feel other areas are lacking.  While Facebook may be easier to find friends without going through the trouble of searching through usernames, like on MySpace, MySpace was better for bands, in my opinion.  While for top 20 artists, it probably doesn't make a difference, but for indie bands it does.  MySpace featured weekly most popular lists for independent artists, a great way to find new music.  The music player sometimes provided free downloads and once friending the band, you could receive bulletin updates when they were touring.  However on Facebook, I need to become lucky somehow and search for new bands to "like."  Some bands make it only possible to listen to their music after giving them a "like." I don't understand how I can form any opinion on a band before listening to their music.  While I may just sound bitter, it could be because of the new "Timeline" format, which I still have no idea how it works.  I've crossed Facebook off the list of sources I use to find new music, due to the fact that I can barely navigate on its pages.

While social networking sites have multiple purposes, they can also connect with other accounts people may have online ie: Twitter.  While this makes more sense, since Twitter is very similar to a Facebook status, I also choose to keep my accounts separate.  While I have many friends on Facebook, I wouldn't consider all of them really my "friends."  I feel that Facebook is a good way to see what people you usually lose touch with are doing, while Twitter is great for humor, activism, and more personal thoughts.  While I don't protect my tweets, I don't want to invite followers who are also my friends on Facebook.  Keeping these as separate entities gives people more to do online, in regards to social networking.  Also after Facebook took over MySpace, they completely sabotaged it.  I don't want that to happen to Twitter.  I hope Instagram holds up okay!