Myspace and Consumerism
The more I read about media and advertising, the more I’m interested in it’s ability to manipulate people’s minds and the de-humanizing effects it may have on us one day. For example, I joined Myspace.com because so many of my real-world friends were using it and, frankly, I didn’t want to exacerbate my image as an out-of-touch luddite. And the result has been predictable: now much of the more intimate interactions I would have had with these friends (e.g. emails, telephone calls, and personal converstaions) has now been supplanted with frivolous, often impersonal interactions (e.g. the “bulletin”) on Myspace.
It’s not that I think these Myspace interactions are bad; but I think these interactions are to some extent replacing more meaningful interactions. Real interaction is hard. It costs time and it costs effort. Myspace interaction is easy. It’s a shortcut to real interaction, but it’s not the real deal.
And now that Myspace has successful begun detaching me from my real-world friends, the website, according to this article, is ready to perniciously introduce me to new “commercial” friends:
To expand ad sales, [MySpace] … wants to … turn[] advertisers into members of the MySpace community, with their own profiles, like the teenagers’ — so that the young people who often spend hours each day on MySpace can become “friends” with movies, cellphone companies and even deodorants. Young people can link to the profiles set up for these goods and services, as they would to real friends, and these commercial “friends” can even send them messages — ads, really, but of a whole new kind.
If these continue down this path, I will be as close to my real friends as I am to, say, Nokia brand cell phones.
i disagree mohsen. i don’t think myspace replaces important interactions, just adds to them. and even though one day nokia might be one of my myspace friends (as if), they will never make my top 8! i do think myspace is becoming another necessary channel marketers must utilize though.
also, did you hear about the kids who got arrested for planning a columbine type attack at their high school? they were stopped ahead of time because they posted about their plans on myspace and got turned in.
I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree, because I think MySpace has definitely affected how I interact with certain friends– primarily higher frequency but lower quailty.
I’m not on MySpace, but I like the sound of this high frequency, low quality interaction — I will have to sign up.
I would guess that Communicating via MySpace could either add to or detract from the quality of your interactions with a person. Which it would do would depend a lot on the two people involved. I, for instance, am not the type of person to typically go out of my way to see or talk to people, so anything that increases the odds that I would come into contact with someone is likely good for me. I know that I am in better contact with you folks than I would be without JttM. The possible exception (for me) would be close friends who live near by….
As for MySpace allowing products to become “members”… I doubt that the community will do much to embrace these new “members”. I can imagine that MySpacers might sincerely befriend movies they like, I can’t see the thing happening with deodorant. I suppose, however, that irony loving hipsters might befriend Right Guard Xtreme, and in the advertising world it matters less why someone is paying attention to your product, and more that they notice in the first place
speaking of deoderant, if you ever see nivea brand deoderant in a store, notify me immediately. as far as i know, they don’t sell it in the states yet. also, you all should join myspace if you haven’t already and be my friend. and if you see nivea brand deoderant on myspace, let me know b/c i want to add that bitch to my friend’s list. definitely top 8 material.
I’m in agreement with joel about myspace being something that increases human interactivity. It’s a good thing, no matter how impersonal. Were I without my precious account, I would not have certain folks’ phone numbers and would not have had any contact with them whatsoever.
Another curious aspect of myspace is it’s voyeurism. When I’ve nothing to do, there’s nothing better than tracking down friends of friends to see what their current religion/residence/personal quote is. Plus it’s a preemptive strike against the possible shock of high school reunion.
Ahh man, I hadn’t even thought about the ramifications on high school reunions. I guess it’s one more reason to not go to one.
Don’t worry, we still have like nine years before our ten year high school reunion.
i hope you realize that you have to help me plan ours daniel, since you were a class officer.