Week 6: Myspace

Impact of Identity on Myspace

Most agree that using social networking websites such as Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter can impact ones identity greatly, but I totally disagree with that. Instead of these websites impacting our identity, I think people alter their own identity to how they want to be perceived as online for example some people may be pedophiles and they represent themselves as someone young, super attractive, as someone that a younger person can turn to in order to trap them. Or some people just have altar egos that they themselves get absorbed in and let leak out to their personal offline lives. Ultimately, I do not believe that sites like Myspace impact our identities at all because it is in fact just a website created for you to come and communicate with others a device cannot impact someones identity, people just alter themselves and change their on identity.

Real World Results of Using Myspace

From the required reading, I have learned  that not only does websites help users to make friends and communicate with their peers, but that through us putting our lives all out for the world to see that it has also resulted in other ways such as helping the police. It is absolutely bazarr how people set their on selves up unknowingly just as the gang that is talked about in the reading who were ignorant enough to talk about a "snitch" on Twitter putting out all their business and showing the police that they will be after the snitch williingly snitching on themselves. Myspace has been used in the real world as a way to catch sexual predators online basically resulting as a free and easy tool to help investigators without having to put in as much work as in the past to find creeps like that. 

From the reading, I have learned that we are making more things way more possible by using the social networking websites and that they have different types of values for all of us. For instance without these sites, it would be less more likely for police officers to find many criminals. I have also learned that this century is completely ignorant to these websites although they may think they know everything about everything they absolutely do not, for example, criminals just go around using these site building up evidence on themselves thinking their pages are private but little that they know there are officials patrolling the whole site. By bragging on their pages to their friends and their "friends of friends," they are just making things so much easier. But on the other hand, criminals can also use these sites to their advantage also by using it to communicate with other criminals and warning one another of any dangers to come. Social networking sites have not just only been a way to come together but in other ways such as in law enforcement, politically, online bullying etc. It has become more dangerous.

Social Networking & Virtual Revolution

The BBC's Virtual Revolution

After watching the YouTube videos on Virtual Revolution, I found it interesting on how we pay for information over the internet not necessarily with money, but with ourselves. Basically, "a little tracker in our computer called a cookie," archives everything we have searched on the web so that we have more modified ads to us. (episode 4) As said in episode 4, "we are being traced, tracked, and traded in pursuit of profit," so ultimately we are being spied on then harrased by all of the annoying advertisements popping up on our computers because they summarize our identity to who they think we are and what we are interested in by a click of a mouse. (episode 3) Not only does the web go so far to tracking every site that we visit, as I learned in episode 3, Google actually records our emails to further help advertisers figure out our consumer habits. In the end, we actually do pay for our free services on the web by selling ourselves like prostitutes in return for internet which is perfectly fine with me because with out the World Wide Web I do not know how I would get half of my work done.

What is Myspace?

Myspace formally known as "MySpace" to now "My_____" is a social networking website where people can come together and share themselves with one another. Just as YouTube, Myspace is a place where many people went to get discovered, not only in music though, but also in the fashion industry, many people have launched modeling careers in response to using MySpace. Myspace is a place to share just as other social networking sites.

When did it come in to being? What was its purpose?

Myspace came into being in 2003. The purpose of Myspace was to bring people together for networking, music, business etc.

Was/Is Myspace cool?

Myspace was cool once upon a time back in June 2006 until their main competitor Facebook came in and took over in April 2008.  Since then Myspace has tried to gain some fans back by redesigning their site making it look like a "music store" and changing its colors and name display.

Are you on it?

No, I am not on Myspace and never have been.

What did you learn from touring the site?

What I learned from touring the site is that it has totally changed from what it was in the past. The whole layout is much more intriguing than Facebook is but since Facebook is basically the "it" social networking website right now that no one really cares.  I also learned that they surround their site around music and seems to be a creative place.

The Anthropology of YouTube

What is YouTube?

  According to Wikipedia, YouTube is a video sharing website where users can upload, share, and view a wide spectrum of videos. But the meaning of YouTube varies throughout users where some find it as a way to broadcast themselves; a window of opportunity or just a means of entertainment.

While watching some videos on  YouTube, I came across some users who actually use YouTube as a guide for tutorials such as the Fairy Barbie Makeover which was a very intriguing tutorial to me and probably would be something I would look up because I absolutely love fairies. 
Another way that I see YouTube being used is for news and politics where Christina Aguilera is ultimately scrutinized for so called messing up "The Star Spangled Banner"giving the opportunity for us YouTube users to replay her mistake as many times as we feel. 

YouTube's Impact

        By YouTube giving users complete control over what they upload besides their censors they put on the videos just in case they are not appropriate for everyone, they are unknowingly impacting our lives significantly. From what we wear, to our presidential elections, to businesses, or even causing controversial issues between states YouTube is much more apparent in our lives than we know. 
 Though some may not have realized, even our presidential elections had an impact from YouTube. Because of YouTube, our presidential election in 2008 was very much more greatly publicized and promoted through all of the new opportunities that YouTube was offering. For instance, YouTube made it possible for viewers to watch presidential debates on their site and even allowed users to post a question that was then sent to the candidate for them to answer like it was shown on CNN with Obama and McCain . 

YouTube Memorials 
Not only does YouTube offer viewers with entertainment, window of opportunity to be discovered, insight on political views etc. they also provide a place for users to come and commemorate lost ones through videos memorials. I just now found out about how YouTube provides a different culture in which people can create a virtual memorial opposed to the traditional ones in a public area. While I was on YouTube I typed in a few because I never noticed that people did this to celebrate lost ones and I am always on YouTube so I typed in Marilyn Monroe Memorials because I just think she was so pretty.

Future of Television
 In The YouTube Reader, they ponder on whether or not YouTube will be the "next-generation tv." To me, I feel that YouTube will not hurt today's television in anyway, but if in any way YouTube does affect television I believe it will on enhance the experience of television such as how 3D at home has made watching television even more fun. Although YouTube has had ultimate success and plenty of riches, in the further future I believe that they will not be changing television in a threatening way.