Geocities 2.0
March 12, 2006 7:12 PM Subscribe
Scary: "They will become the prime Internet demographic in the years to come and they will determine what's hot and what's not."
Bad web design from 1997 has come back to attack us, and myspace is leading the assault!
posted by drstein at 7:19 PM on March 12, 2006
Bad web design from 1997 has come back to attack us, and myspace is leading the assault!
posted by drstein at 7:19 PM on March 12, 2006
drstein, you're quote is way out of context. The article is referring to kids being that force, not myspace.
posted by dobbs at 7:26 PM on March 12, 2006
posted by dobbs at 7:26 PM on March 12, 2006
I check myspace several times and day, and it's a major part of my life and the lives of my friends. This is despite the fact that the site is slow, poorly designed, and nearly constantly broken. There's still no other way to get in contact with so many people so easily.
posted by deafmute at 7:31 PM on March 12, 2006
posted by deafmute at 7:31 PM on March 12, 2006
deafmute's right, though. Myspace's value is the community that's formed up around the worst technical trainwreck of a website I've seen in years.
They could save hundreds of thousands of dollars in bandwidth by re-designing to web standards with semantic markup—not to mention they'd probably draw in people who'd otherwise be put off by the place's awkwardness.
posted by S.C. at 7:44 PM on March 12, 2006
They could save hundreds of thousands of dollars in bandwidth by re-designing to web standards with semantic markup—not to mention they'd probably draw in people who'd otherwise be put off by the place's awkwardness.
posted by S.C. at 7:44 PM on March 12, 2006
this is why I use facebook, as do all my college friends. its quick, well built, css based, and most importantly -- doesn't look like it was the product of a recreational abortion.
posted by WetherMan at 7:47 PM on March 12, 2006
posted by WetherMan at 7:47 PM on March 12, 2006
I hate myspace. For years, I've been asking my friends to get blogs of their own, because I thought it would be fun. No one did. And then starting a couple months ago, they *all* got on myspace. Everyone's on myspace. And they want me to join too, but I won't for all the reasons listed above. It's principle -- as a web developer, I refuse to use a service that's so poorly designed.
And I need to get over it, because it's the damn future.
posted by crawl at 7:51 PM on March 12, 2006
And I need to get over it, because it's the damn future.
posted by crawl at 7:51 PM on March 12, 2006
The thing about Myspace's awful design is that it lowers the standards of what you can post there. It's precisely because of the terrible design that people feel comfortable posting much of what get's posted. If it were better designed, many users would be driven away.
Look at the content on Facebook as a counter example. Much more restrained. Much more in keeping with the feel of the site as a whole. You've got your albums of pictures and you messages but that's about it. People will put anything up on Myspace.
Now, whether this lowbrow welcomeness was intentional or was a lucky side effect of the poor design is another question.
posted by joegester at 7:55 PM on March 12, 2006
Look at the content on Facebook as a counter example. Much more restrained. Much more in keeping with the feel of the site as a whole. You've got your albums of pictures and you messages but that's about it. People will put anything up on Myspace.
Now, whether this lowbrow welcomeness was intentional or was a lucky side effect of the poor design is another question.
posted by joegester at 7:55 PM on March 12, 2006
facebook is so much more functional than myspace, and it doesn't let fucking idiots re-design their profile and put in custom HTML tags, the worst technical decision 'Tom' has ever made.
MySpace is seriously the worst site ever. I would prefer to use IM, email, or carrier pigeon (via time machine) to communicate.
posted by tweak at 7:56 PM on March 12, 2006
MySpace is seriously the worst site ever. I would prefer to use IM, email, or carrier pigeon (via time machine) to communicate.
posted by tweak at 7:56 PM on March 12, 2006
Not only is it ugly, it's also very, very slow now.
Myspace is like a cancer eating up the web.
posted by delmoi at 8:02 PM on March 12, 2006
Myspace is like a cancer eating up the web.
posted by delmoi at 8:02 PM on March 12, 2006
That said, I think this will eventually pass too. Just like ICQ. The people who use it will grow up and get bored, and the new teeneybopers will find something new.
posted by delmoi at 8:04 PM on March 12, 2006
posted by delmoi at 8:04 PM on March 12, 2006
Indeed, I too have fallen into the black hole known as myspace. I dont do the crap like changing the background or playing songs. Its just there to keep an eye on my sister.
posted by SirOmega at 8:11 PM on March 12, 2006
posted by SirOmega at 8:11 PM on March 12, 2006
Sports' Facebook Time -- Athletes issued ultimatums about content.
MySpace Invaders -- Did you know Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney loves "clubbin'" or that Sen. John Kerry is pals with GOP strategist and White House senior adviser Karl Rove? Or that gubernatorial hopeful Deval Patrick is down with Boston band Timebomb Inc.? Well, neither did they. These are just some of the quirky details in the phony online profiles of Bay State lawmakers on the popular MySpace.com networking site.
Watching MySpace -- Postings on social websites result in expulsions and arrests.
posted by ericb at 8:18 PM on March 12, 2006
MySpace Invaders -- Did you know Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney loves "clubbin'" or that Sen. John Kerry is pals with GOP strategist and White House senior adviser Karl Rove? Or that gubernatorial hopeful Deval Patrick is down with Boston band Timebomb Inc.? Well, neither did they. These are just some of the quirky details in the phony online profiles of Bay State lawmakers on the popular MySpace.com networking site.
Watching MySpace -- Postings on social websites result in expulsions and arrests.
posted by ericb at 8:18 PM on March 12, 2006
This too shall pass.
Probably around the time the kids parents and grandparents start getting myspace accounts.
That said, I think this will eventually pass too. Just like ICQ.
I still use it from time to time, seems to be have a small devote following in Canada and parts of Europe.
posted by bobo123 at 8:18 PM on March 12, 2006
Probably around the time the kids parents and grandparents start getting myspace accounts.
That said, I think this will eventually pass too. Just like ICQ.
I still use it from time to time, seems to be have a small devote following in Canada and parts of Europe.
posted by bobo123 at 8:18 PM on March 12, 2006
Does *anybody* make their first web page in clean, standards-compliant HTML and CSS? I certainly didn't, but that's more or less my job now! I think the only difference between now and 1997 is how many people are out there making atrocious, animated-GIF-laden sites via myspace, livejournal and etc. Chances are, 5 or 6 years from now, kids who started out by using MySpace profile editors and linking to G-Unit videos will be kicking my ass at whatever post-AJAX technology is fueling Web 3.0. That's just the way it goes!
posted by idontlikewords at 8:31 PM on March 12, 2006
posted by idontlikewords at 8:31 PM on March 12, 2006
Alexa rankings? I heard they are super accurate.
posted by chunking express at 8:52 PM on March 12, 2006
posted by chunking express at 8:52 PM on March 12, 2006
"drstein, you're quote is way out of context. The article is referring to kids being that force, not myspace.
posted by dobbs at 7:26 PM PST on March 12 [!]"
Huh? No, it's not out of context. Who do you think is the force behind myspace? I didn't say myspace itself was. I just noted that it's a web design nightmare.
posted by drstein at 9:10 PM on March 12, 2006
posted by dobbs at 7:26 PM PST on March 12 [!]"
Huh? No, it's not out of context. Who do you think is the force behind myspace? I didn't say myspace itself was. I just noted that it's a web design nightmare.
posted by drstein at 9:10 PM on March 12, 2006
MySpace will slide into irrelevance as soon as the next thing comes along. That's what eventually happens when your market is fickle youth.
posted by Dukebloo at 9:23 PM on March 12, 2006
posted by Dukebloo at 9:23 PM on March 12, 2006
Does Myspace have advertisements? Does anyone click on them? Any other way that NWS makes money (or could make money) on the site?
posted by Kwantsar at 9:38 PM on March 12, 2006
posted by Kwantsar at 9:38 PM on March 12, 2006
For some background on this story see: Fox To Buy Intermix Media/MySpace: The Truth About MySpace, Why Doesn't Anyone Ask Who Actually Runs MySpace?.
And this is fun too, but don't stop there. Keep going.
posted by airguitar at 11:02 PM on March 12, 2006
And this is fun too, but don't stop there. Keep going.
posted by airguitar at 11:02 PM on March 12, 2006
I just assume that the gargantuan amount of page hits is from sad little teenagers refreshing their pages every few minutes to see if someone else had added them as a friend, in a desperate bid for validation.
(I too was a teenager, and I can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing if the technology was available at the time.)
Once, there was Livejournal. Now there is Myspace, which contains added K-Fed. Who wouldn't switch?
My first encounter of myspace was in this thread. Although the linked site seems to be not working, for now.
posted by chronic sublime at 11:09 PM on March 12, 2006
(I too was a teenager, and I can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing if the technology was available at the time.)
Once, there was Livejournal. Now there is Myspace, which contains added K-Fed. Who wouldn't switch?
My first encounter of myspace was in this thread. Although the linked site seems to be not working, for now.
posted by chronic sublime at 11:09 PM on March 12, 2006
What is myspace? I've always assumed it was a cross over between live journal and geocities.
I'd go check but (amusingly) it's down for me atm...
posted by twine42 at 11:33 PM on March 12, 2006
I'd go check but (amusingly) it's down for me atm...
posted by twine42 at 11:33 PM on March 12, 2006
I think the best way to think of MySpace is as e-mail. It's web-based e-mail, with avatars and graphics, in public. E-mail pretty much has a social requirement that it have a purpose -- some sort of content, even if it's just that stupid picture of the duck hitting his computer with a mallet that's been around since the 8-bit graphics days. On these sites, though, you're encouraged socially just to renew your association with someone by saying hi.
Not a bad thing, that's not my point. But it's a much lower social bar, and so unlike e-mail, where you have the "what will I say?" problem, with MySpace &c. the atmosphere is more like a crowded Student Union or bar, where you pretty much trawl the room for people you know and say hi to. It's remarkably effective. Of course it's a big load of nothing so to those of us steeped in the content-rich part of the web it seems by turns pointless, heretical, or even inimical.
posted by dhartung at 2:24 AM on March 13, 2006
Not a bad thing, that's not my point. But it's a much lower social bar, and so unlike e-mail, where you have the "what will I say?" problem, with MySpace &c. the atmosphere is more like a crowded Student Union or bar, where you pretty much trawl the room for people you know and say hi to. It's remarkably effective. Of course it's a big load of nothing so to those of us steeped in the content-rich part of the web it seems by turns pointless, heretical, or even inimical.
posted by dhartung at 2:24 AM on March 13, 2006
These stats from Alexa are way off, the Alexa stats usually are when it comes to pageviews. For site rank, it's probably as accurate as you're going to get.
posted by cell divide at 2:45 AM on March 13, 2006
posted by cell divide at 2:45 AM on March 13, 2006
idontlikewords writes "Does *anybody* make their first web page in clean, standards-compliant HTML and CSS? I certainly didn't, but that's more or less my job now!"
I did, but the bar was a lot lower in 1996.
posted by Mitheral at 7:33 AM on March 13, 2006
I did, but the bar was a lot lower in 1996.
posted by Mitheral at 7:33 AM on March 13, 2006
The fugliest of the fugliest layouts tend to that that "This space pimped by Myspace pimper" logo on them. I'm pretty sure these kids aren't going to do their own CSS anytime soon.
Also, the local TV news seems to have a "Myspace wants to rape your preteen daughters" story at least once a week.
posted by Skwirl at 10:02 AM on March 13, 2006
Also, the local TV news seems to have a "Myspace wants to rape your preteen daughters" story at least once a week.
posted by Skwirl at 10:02 AM on March 13, 2006
I think I went to mySpace once. It just had a hundred comments saying "Thank you for adding me as a friend lollerskatez ur hawt!", and every link went to the same content only with different user icons and spellings of hot.
Is there actually anything worth going to mySpace for?
posted by Sparx at 12:10 PM on March 13, 2006
Is there actually anything worth going to mySpace for?
posted by Sparx at 12:10 PM on March 13, 2006
Is there actually anything worth going to mySpace for?
Now and then you find folks—and here I'm thinking mostly of musicians and bands—who have some genuine talent but absolutely no web/tech skills, and who thus go to Myspace to host their stuff.
So, strictly speaking, yes. But that doesn't change the fact that myspace sucks balls.
posted by cortex at 12:24 PM on March 13, 2006
Now and then you find folks—and here I'm thinking mostly of musicians and bands—who have some genuine talent but absolutely no web/tech skills, and who thus go to Myspace to host their stuff.
So, strictly speaking, yes. But that doesn't change the fact that myspace sucks balls.
posted by cortex at 12:24 PM on March 13, 2006
"We're talking angry fruit salads and congealed owl puke here."
I think I love you, Afroblanco.
That said -- in the crafty business circles I travel in (think handmade, DIY...not macrame toilet paper cozies and such), MySpace has become a defacto means of promotion. If you click on Business A's profile, and see they're "friends" with Business B...you might end up clicking over to (and later purchasing stuff from) Business B. Yes, the graphics and page layouts (etc) are incredibly appalling, but it serves its social networking purpose well enough for the non-web-standards-savvy.
posted by bitter-girl.com at 12:41 PM on March 13, 2006
I think I love you, Afroblanco.
That said -- in the crafty business circles I travel in (think handmade, DIY...not macrame toilet paper cozies and such), MySpace has become a defacto means of promotion. If you click on Business A's profile, and see they're "friends" with Business B...you might end up clicking over to (and later purchasing stuff from) Business B. Yes, the graphics and page layouts (etc) are incredibly appalling, but it serves its social networking purpose well enough for the non-web-standards-savvy.
posted by bitter-girl.com at 12:41 PM on March 13, 2006
www.tagworld.com seems like a good Web 2.0 alternative to Myspace. I just signed up for an account the other day so I haven't fully explored it.
Not having an .edu email account has hampered me from exploring the facebook.
Different then Myspace but similarly addicting in the social networking space is the www.43places.com and www.43things.com
posted by hpsell at 1:30 PM on March 13, 2006
Not having an .edu email account has hampered me from exploring the facebook.
Different then Myspace but similarly addicting in the social networking space is the www.43places.com and www.43things.com
posted by hpsell at 1:30 PM on March 13, 2006
airguitar - Interesting background article, thanks. This site is mentioned in the comments as a successor to MySpace, I wonder if that's accurate. The FriendWise home page they say they have no affiliation with MySpace but some of the pre-launch (March 1) comment hype says that it is "the guys behind MySpace".
posted by tellurian at 3:22 PM on March 13, 2006
posted by tellurian at 3:22 PM on March 13, 2006
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