Wade Roush, on being able to be a friend with the Burger King and other “Fakesters” on MySpace: “What’s sad about MySpace, though, is that the large supply of fake ‘friends,’ together with the cornucopia of ready-made songs, videos, and other marketing materials that can be directly embedded in profiles, encourages members to define themselves and their relationships almost solely in terms of media and consumption. This can’t be all that social computing has to offer.”
2 Replies to “Look, Mom! I’m Friends With A Sorta-Creepy Bearded Guy!”
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I know many people have rules that they actually know every one of their “friends” in real life before adding them to MySpace. I think having a personal policy like this helps to identify through true social connections and not just products and media. I’ve let a few brands slip through – I added Borat before his movie came out (I’ll probably delete him soon). I have my NPR radio stations and bands where I personally know a member. But I really think MySpace – the overhyped online networking machine that it may be – has much more value to me as a place full of names, places and music I already know personally and trust.
At my most mellow I think that it’s not just about consumerism – it’s about defining the self in relation to fiction, imaginary worlds, and myth.