MySpace

Overview
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MySpace is a social networking website that offers an interactive service with users creating their own network of friends, personal profiles, bulletins, blogs, groups, photos, music, and videos. It also features an internal search engine and a email system. Myspace was founded in July 2003 by Tom Anderson, the current president and CEO, Chris DeWolfe, and a small team of programmers. Myspace has gradually become apart of youth culture. The focus of youth culture has often been to identify themselves as a whole. The construction of various communities is an effort to find a common ground as young people individually struggle to find their own identity by observing their environment. While the internet has become a dominating force within our culture, our sense of place has been virtually rendered obsolete. Geographical barriers have been eliminated, as young people unite in this spaceless realm. The internet has allowed for a shift in youth culture from passive consumer of popular culture to active member of their global environment through the flow and exchange of ideas. It has facilitated awareness that youth can and should participate in their world, and that they have the power to do so through this medium. In two years, Myspace has become one of the most popular social networking sites on the internet. With more than 50 million registered users, and 17 000 new members a day, Myspace has become the mark of a new generation of young people. (Verini, 238) It has transformed the social foundation of young people predominantly in North America, by providing a space in which all youth subcultures exist. However fragmented in their differences, they connect in one central focus- a need to be heard, and to be acknowledged as apart of something bigger than themselves.

Initially a channel through which to communicate, it has evolved into it’s own network of subcultures. The website is advertised as ’a place for friends’ however Myspace has far surpassed that original intent. Over a quarter of it’s members are under the age of 18, and the majority of it’s users are between 18-25.(Verini 239) The Myspace subculture has distinguished itself from other similar sites, by being heavily user generated, allowing for greater freedom for the individual. Essentially, users sell an idea of themselves with the ability to construct identities which are greatly influenced by codes which have been formulated by the world of Myspace, and contributes to it’s subcultural characteristics. Although it is not a physical place, the subcultural world of Myspace exists, and inside this world are legitimate subcultural practices and behaviors that all of its members adhere to. This place, however, is being threatened by the growing presence of mainstream media, and corporate takeover which could alter or end the subculture of Myspace as it is known today, a common occurrence within the lifespan of any subculture.



Membership
Myspace is considered a social networking site. All Myspacers begin their membership by constructing their profile. They are to fill in basic information, descriptions of themselves, and likes and dislikes under generic headings such as music, movies, and books. This is then followed by a list of comments posted by ’friends’ who are kept in a collection, beginning with one’s top eight friends on Myspace, who are on display on one’s page. Blogs, music, creative layouts, and photographs are also included to further construct the profile as a reflection of one’s life and interests. Profiles determine what friends will choose you, and how you will be received by this virtual community. The profile has subcultural characteristics within itself. Every member’s profile locates them in a specific subculture some of which are exclusively found within Myspace, all of which are dictated by a subcultural hierarchy. For example, there are the ‘emo kids’ whose profile lists nearly every band in the post-hardcore screamo music genre, with various blogs dedicated to teenage angst, and a collection of photographs featuring strategically styled hair. There are ’Myspace lovers’ whose pages are solely dedicated to their significant others, plastering webcam images holding signs of love, this is often distinguished by placing ’married’ under one’s status, or contrastly, ’divorced’ if they had broken up. The most prevalent are the ‘Myspace bands’ who dominate the community, looking for exposure, mp3 plays, post bulletins for shows, and recruit a fan base. Myspace bands have enjoyed a fair degree of success, even if only on Myspace.

Famous Myspacers
Myspacers are people who aren’t particularly famous for anything other than their Myspace popularity. Myspacer, Christine Dolce, better known as ’Forbidden’ has 706 000 friends, and has turned herself into a brand. Similarly to the real world, Myspace is a place of networking, which can resonate within the real world. This is most evident when bands and labels recruit for new members. For example, Panic! At the Disco were immediately signed and are currently headlining sold out international tours from posting a few mp3s on Pete Wentz’s page from the band ‘Fall Out Boy‘. Myspacers can become an enigma, as if only to exist in that world. The prospect of meeting a famous Myspacer in real life has become like a celebrity sighting, which is further perpetuated by the intimate dynamics of Myspace, where members can communicate directly and receive responses from close friends, strangers and even celebrities. Identities within any subculture are distorted, who you are on Myspace does not necessarily translate into your real life.

Subcultures in Myspace
Originating as an open forum for various subcultures to express themselves, Myspace has allowed for these subcultures to flourish and evolve by providing a space to educate people about different subcultures promoting a sense of diversity, and expressive freedom. By allowing users to discover different lifestyles in a safe environment, void of judgment and social barriers, acceptance and understanding are encouraged. Although space is limitless, different groups still struggle to acquire a degree of cultural ‘space’. (Brake, 5) This is done through acquiring as many ’friends’ as possible. Various youth subcultures such as aspiring punk rockers and jocks would be reluctant to associate with one another in school hallways, but would find it easier to discover a common bond over Myspace, or at the very least, an open forum for discussion. It also allows for members of specific subcultures to connect, when they otherwise wouldn’t due to geographical and social barriers. Myspace allows for virtually every kind of subculture to thrive; substance abusers, racists and atheists share the same medium as recovering addicts, different races and religious fanatics.Membership into various subcultures can be initiated through the use of Myspace as well. Those interested in different subcultures are able to communicate with it’s members, find out about various events, and figure out how they can become apart of that world. People of similar demographics often gravitate towards each other and form exclusive groups on Myspace, similar to social networking in the real world, “empirically, clusters of subcultural groups are found in specific locations of the social class structure, with a common experience in terms of background, class, education and neighborhood.” (Brake 16)

By examining it’s function as a medium between and within various youth subcultures, how it has evolved into a subculture in itself is better understood. Regardless of what subculture or lifestyle Myspacers subscribe to, there are various codes of conduct that they all adhere to. These codes have been acquired through observing what is acceptable Myspace behavior, from the various rules of etiquette, to the rhetoric used, to the requirements of the profile, these codes are considered unwritten laws to abide by, primarily in order to be accepted by the group. Securing a social foundation on Myspace is essential to existing in it’s world, it determines your value on the basis of others. Many comments and an extensive friend list equates to one’s popularity, it is perhaps the only way for others to confirm the validity of the identity you’ve structured, by reading what your ‘friends’ have to say about you. The appeal of the Myspace culture is that it gives it’s users the opportunity to break down barriers, to communicate with individuals in a safe atmosphere. Membership into various subcultures can be initiated through the use of Myspace as well. Those interested in different subcultures are able to communicate with it’s members, find out about various events, and figure out how they can become apart of that world. Myspace, to an extent, offers the freedom to start with a blank slate and recreate an identity

Related Sites
Hi5 and Friendster are also social networking websites that allows users to find/meet new people, connect people though friends, and stay in touch by sharing videos, blogs, and photos. These two social networking systems also provide unlimited spaces for people to express themselves.

**Related Wiki Links:**

 * Facebook
 * [|Hi5]
 * [|Friendster]

References:
Brake, Michael. __Comparative Youth Culture: The Sociology of Youth Cultures and Youth Subcultures in America, Britain and Canada__. London and New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1985.

Verini, James. “Will Success Spoil MySpace?” __Vanity Fair__ Mar: pgs 238-244.

Myspace. Wikipedia.org [online] retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myspace

Images: from [|www.myspace.com]