Social Networking Sites

Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and Tumblr are four very different blogging platforms/social networking sites. Myspace was the first to become popular in 2005 and was well know for its customizability. With simple html coding or readily available myspace themes, users could customize their pages to reflect their interests and personalities. Although it was initially popular as a social networking site, now Myspace is heavily focused on music and has changed anything and everything about it's design.  I was very impressed with the new Myspace, as it has been years since I opened the site.  The updated interface is a lot cleaner and more intuitive than before. It is designed around musicians and features not only music pages but photo streaming, video, and an events page where users can update their fans about upcoming tours and shows.

Facebook is probably the site I am most familiar with. Earlier versions of Facebook featured widgets that allowed users to customize their profile but over the years, the site has taken a more simplistic approach. Of the features that weren't taken away, many of those that used to be popular are now quite outdated (i.e. notes and likes). I would have to agree with the growingly popular opinion that Facebook itself is becoming outdated as a social networking site and has simply become too boring. Where it used to be the hub of all social life, in the past few years, it has become a place filled with drama and adults (specifically employers and parents) who you don't want monitoring your online activities. The main uses of Facebook today, at least from my observations, are to instant message friends, organize groups of people, and also some advertising.

My experiences with Twitter have been very limited. However, over the course of this class thus far, I have begun to see it in all its glory. For one, it's extremely simple to use. It's like Facebook stripped of everything but the status update, and even then with a lot less drama. There's also this mutual understanding that you have to say what you need to say in only 140 characters so you better make it count. Another great thing about Twitter is that you can follow people you would never be able to access otherwise, especially your favorite celebrities. It's also arguably the fastest and most efficient way to receive and disperse news. Finally, I think that Twitter has the perfect balance of customization--between the overwhelming amount of Myspace and the bare minimum of Facebook.

Finally, I chose to visit Tumblr. Tumblr is probably the most multifaceted platform of the four. While one page can be heavily text based another may have no words at all--only pictures. Still others may have only videos or quotes. Many pages are a mix of the four and with the vast quantity of themes, backgrounds and layouts, almost no two pages are alike. Of all the various types of Tumblr pages, i would have to say my favorite would have to be the ones that focus on pictures. I think that Tumblr is a wonderful tool to visually compile all of your favorite images and gifs (moving images). Also, much like Twitter allows you to "retweet" posts, Tumblr allows you to repost images and other content so you don't have to post original content to have a Tumblr page.