Space: the final frontier
Goodbye, MySpace! Inspired by Miseryguts, who cancelled his MySpace account in October, I decided to cancel mine. At 11.22 today, I pressed the fateful button. It already feels good. I considered shutting my account at the beginning of the year, but the mercenary within convinced me that it would be a useful way of publicising That's Me In The Corner, so I stayed on. I duly sent a bulletin out to all of my thousand or so "friends" (some of whom are actually my friends, or at least acquaintances, or pop stars and comedians I have met or worked with, so I don't wish to insult anyone with those speechmarks), saying that my book was out. This clearly had no appreciable effect on sales, and in fact made me feel a bit dirty. I'm not one for group emails, so why I thought this was OK, I don't know. The demons of commerce had infected me. (Hey, I thought, struggling indie bands send me news of their latest gig in Harlow every day on MySpace - why not do the same? There's no harm in it.)
Anyway, I found the strength of will today, and I'm free.
To be fair to myself, I only opened a MySpace account in May last year in order to have a race with Richard Herring, to see who could get the most "friends". He overtook me almost immediately, and had doubled my tally within a month. He is more popular than me. I accept that now. (Mind you, his job is to stand in pubs and clubs and try and get people to like him, so he tries much harder than I do, hiding behind the printed page and other comedians.)
I don't have a problem per se with social networking sites, and I certainly have no problem with the people I know who use them, but for me, it had turned into yet another timewaster. I am my own boss; if I spend work hours tinkering about on the internet, it's only my money I'm losing. And anyway, having a blog is enough of a commitment, and far more enjoyable and personal in terms of keeping a dialogue going with like-minded souls. (And some unlike-minded ones.)
That said, deep down, part of me suspects we're all going to hell, and convincing ourselves that random people are our "friends" when they are merely collecting the equivalent of football stickers, just like we are, is not only insane, it's detrimental to the national conversation and to the useful evolution of the species. I love the internet, but at least with personal blogs and specialist forums, you choose where to go and whom to converse with. On MySpace, especially when your "friend" total passes the couple of hundred mark - and it does, as these things are truly viral - it's just unmanageable. In light of yesterday's controversy about touting for work with group emails, I'd say it's actually a bit more focussed to do so via MySpace, because you have to be "accepted" by someone to be their "friend" first (just typing that sentence made my head hurt). At least when I shamelessly sent a bulletin about my book coming out, those who received it had either requested my "friendship" or "accepted" my request of the same human concept. We had something, however tenuous and virtual, in common. It makes sense to get involved if you're constantly gigging, as a band or a comedian, but I'm not. Also, and this is the crucial factor, MySpace looks fucking terrible. It's slow and ugly to negotiate, and those who "pimp" their pages are only doing so within fairly strict aesthetic parameters. Also, the more complicated the design, the slower it is to load. I've been on people's MySpace pages on a BBC computer and they've crashed Explorer.
So farewell, then, "friends" who don't know me, or think I still I have a show on 6 Music and want me to play their record. Farewell to unwanted messages from soft porn webcam sites which have nothing to do with "friendship" and to people who replace their avatars with messages about Madeleine McCann. It's been real.
Actually ...
Labels: MySpace
posted by Andrew Collins @ 11:24 AM
25 Comments
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25 Comments:
As one of your MySpace "friends", I shall miss you greatly Andrew. Well to be honest I won't actually notice. I rarely access my page at all these days (not that I ever did).
Facebook is a better alternative because you have greater control over who your friends are. I've got about 30 friends on there and they are all people I actually know and like. Unlike MySpace where the majority of my "friends" are complete strangers who try and sell me things.
It is very nice to read this post, Andrew, and even better to hear someone else say how awful MySpace looks. I've never had a MySpace page - I don't really see the point in accruing loads of "friends" for no real purpose - but mostly I find the pages just plain aesthetically offensive. MySpace is for me, the equivalent of sitting at a messy desk in a room with strip lighting, and clashing carpet and wallpaper. Just does my head in!
I deleted my account about a month ago - i hope you didn't miss me as a "friend".
I will miss being your number one "friend", Andrew!
I agree with all the commments about the look of Myspace pages, but I still have my page going. I never looked on it as a place to socially network, although I have made a few friends through the page with whom I have now met up. I only ever looked upon the site as a marketing tool to find out about bands and comedians and from that point of view, I find it really useful. It also meant I had no problem about getting bulletins about your book, because I felt that was the point of us both being on there.
I have been selective about who I choose as friends, especially after a speight of messages from American men who were looking for "lurve" - their spelling, alas, not mine! I also have a clearout every so often.
I still have a couple of myspace pages. Think I might ditch the one that doesn't have my terrible songs on it. My terrible songs need to be heard, even if it's only by the tone deaf and the masochistic. I actually like Myspace better than facebook or Bebo, but that isn't saying much. You're right, blogging rocks.
I cancelled mine in May, don't miss it and like Wayne 1966, I find Facebook more real and it has got me back in touch with some missed school friends (and I have made some genuine new friends who share my interests).
All of these sites are probably time wasting, but as long as you remember where the off switch is, I don't think there's too much harm in it.
I've still got mine - although now two less friends since bethnoir and Andrew cancelled their accounts, sniff! - but as has been said, I never looked on it as someting to make friends through, more something to try and publicise my books through. Not that it has worked for that either! I much prefer Facebook and having said that, I shall now go off and attempt to beat beathnoir at Scrabulous!
Timewasting, yes, but for those of us who are housebound for one reason or another (small children in my case) sites like this can be a good way of connecting with friends while not having to find a baby sitter!
I reckon you'll win this one, Liz, it's bingo time!
How are you at Scrabble, Andrew?
Have been meaning to do the same. Mainly signed up as it seemed a good way to keep up to date with gig news of comedians and bands rather than to communicate with real life friends. However most of my time seemed to be spent refusing friend requests from spammers and bands I'd never heard of and don't suit my music taste either.
I've been on people's MySpace pages on a BBC computer and they've crashed Explorer.
I'm not surprised, they've only got 32K of memory and an eight-bit processor. You should get something a bit more modern, although the Beeb version of Elite is still one of the best games ever...
Less facetiously, I hate MySpace with a passion. Funny how quickly it's fallen out of favour - it was the site du jour a while ago. I have an account, but I've never used it, because I found the thing so ghastly. I only ever visit one page with any regularity, and that's my wife's cousin, who is a singer-songwriter and posts her music there.
Facebook is very much better, although I find a lot of the bells and whistles to be enormously annoying, and I wish it was a bit simpler. It's great for keeping in touch with friends, and I don't add anyone I don't know. That's what my blog is for, and that's been a hugely satisfying online experience.
Oh, I enjoyed being one of your top 'friends' above people you probably know in real life!
I actually barely ever use myspace, I occasionally blog on it, but I deleted all other content from it about six months ago.
I also prefer Facebook with my smaller group of people that I actually know and using their real names, and it's nice clean look - and yes I agree about Myspace crashing BBC internet browsers, all the time...
The main thing I like about 'social networking sites' is how they exploded mere minutes after ITV bought Friends Reunited!
I've never done Myspace, mainly because when I tried to register it told me I didn't 'fit the profile'. Who am I, George Martin?
So I went for Facebook, which is fine for stamp collecting your pals, etc., but annoying when people want to make you into a zombie or send you a virtual pie, especially if it's someone you hoped you'd offloaded years ago but they've tracked you down and now constantly send you 'hilarious' messages or posted on your 'fun'wall.
Half the applications on there my browser refuses to support, so all those questions I've been asked - I'm not being rude I just can't see them to answer them
Facebook is ace for getting matey with your blogging mates on a more personal level, I find. Not so hot when people send you pictures of what our American friend call 'toilet yumour', literally.
I agree that Myspace is pants, but by wasting time on it earlier this year, clicking on peoples friends, and then their friends... I discovered pdf magazine All The Rage, which is nice.
Also, does this now mean that the unscrupulous can hijack the name and set up their own Collins/WDIAGR page, then ignore it to make it look like Andrew has no friends?
Ooh, that's a potentially inspirational post for me! I am considering going "cold turkey" from Facebook but have attempted to promote a book through a group that's dedicated to a blog that publicises a book...so that's holding me back. It's only a tiny publisher so I'm hoping (okay working my arse off and praying desperately, yes I am that sad) that it will have made a difference.
I can't get my head round the strange mix of friends I have - some established journalists, some wannabe writers and some mums of twins (like me) who post pics of willies on my 'Funwall' and send me petitions about James Bulger.
Now that my partner has also signed up and it will allow him to see how much I piss about at work when I am supposed to be earning money to feed and clothe our children, I reckon it must be time to go. The moment people who *really* know you sign up may be time to move on, I fear.
Thanks and all the best to you.
Linda
Oh bollocks now I get the nickname thing, Linda isn't very exciting. This'll have to do.
I've never had a Myspace page, but a few months ago I signed up for Facebook in order to keep track of a friend who used it as a travelogue.
Facebook is the biggest time leech, and although I'm an adult capable of self control, I found myself checking my account every day- an exercise in pure pointlessness as I never accepted invitations to become a virtual pirate/ werewolf/ donkey/ whatever, or to support dumb dumbs in their quests to convince their fake spouses to name their non existent kids after a catchphrase.
Facebook is, as you would probably expect, designed to play on your fears- of being left out of the group, and your vanity- Look at my wonderful close, supporting friends (they've sent me a virtual cactus!!) Look at my holiday! Look at my wonderful lifestyle!! I'm not really hanging on to life my the skin of my petrified teeth! Look at me!!!
The final straw came when my friends girlfriend invited me to 'pet' her cat- Catbook and Dogbook being the latest applications.
The whole thing smacks of tulip madness.
The only way to beat it is to not join it, and if you're on it, remove all of your friends and make sure they know your e-mail address. Or better still, your real address (or phone number, at least.)
Strangely enough, though, Facebook is incredibly tricky to close down. Even if you deactivate your account you can reactivate it easily enough. There seems to be no way to kill it completely. In the end, I deleted all of my personal info, changed my (Facebook) name, changed my Facebook password to something completely unmemorable, set up a new e-mail account, confirmed my new password and then deleted my e-mail account. If anybody knows a simpler way, please use it!
Both you and then most of the people above are right. Myspace was just bizarre - and always encouraged the worst page design tendencies which made both my eyes and the life inside of me melt.
Facebook at least looks vaguely nice and lets you just stay in touch with a mix of friends you a) actually know and can touch and even sleep with if you both feel like it, and b) nice bloggy friends with whom meeting let alone sleeping with probably isn't on the cards, so lets discuss ,(insert personal intellectual fetish here).
However, Facebook is also - as pointed out by others - intensely annoying as endless utterly pointless plugins can make even the most sane normal people suddenly appear to be the sort who would describe themselves as 'A bit maaad' at a social event or - even worse - 'A People Person'.
If one more person buys me a virtual drink or builds me a virtual snowman I might have to kill them, for example.
Still, I have just started an experiment and set up the Facebook equivalent of my silly blog. I don't why I did it, what it is for, or why people would ever want to join, I just thought I should.
God, I'm weak...
I have ummed and ahhhed about quittin g both facebook and myspace, especially facebook. At least on Myspace you can blog and find old friends without getting 'poked' or people you vaguely remember going to school with throwing sheep at you!
I came off both Myspace and Facebook about 2 months ago and now have so much more time on my hands, it's great! It's only when you come off them that you realise what a slave you've been to them!
Myspace was a nightmare to come off though, I had to try about 10 times before they eventually sent me the email I needed to quit. The only thing I miss about it is the bulletins from bands as I found that the best way to get the up to the minute news from the bands I love, which meant that I could finally stop buying the NME which has been deteriorating for years (and seemingly increasing in price every week whilst decreasing in content).
Zoe
I signed up to MySpace, many many moons ago, but only ever to protect my 'identity' from imposters (yeah, like I'm that popular or important, but anyway). Unlikely that I'll have logged into it in at least a year.
Facebook, I'm a more active member of, but generally hate those kind of things so only have about two of the addon 'applications', and rarely spend as much as five minutes at a time on it, perhaps once a day.
Wall? What the hell happened to e-mail?!
I agree that Myspace is pants, but by wasting time on it earlier this year, clicking on peoples friends, and then their friends... I discovered pdf magazine All The Rage, which is nice.
Hey, I've just discovered the same magazine. But this time by wasting time clicking on the comments feature on Andrew's blog. ;)
Still have myspace but only because it's useful for my songwriting aspirations. An easy way to get stuff up there.
Facebook just doesn't interest me. Anybody I want to keep in touch with I do it in the real world. Anyone at a distance I have the telephone or instant messenger. The people I really want to keep in touch with are upstairs in bed sleeping their little heads off.
This is all my fault!!
To be honest I binned my MySpace, Bebo and Facebook (people kept inviting me to join them all) during a weekend of abject depression. But I've found that I don't miss them - not one little bit. I'd made a couple of new friends and they have my e-mail address so I don't need those sites anymore.
I have since resurrected my Bebo site but I'm going to take it down again due to a problem with an individual.
They're all too time consuming and we've all got better things to do.
If the postal service wasn't so bad I'd go back to writing letters.
I think MySpace is really excellent for checking out bands quickly. I have read on blogs recommendations and can immediately see if they are up my street. I have gained some cracking artists/albums that way.
And as a band member myself, albeit one not chasing any fame, it is nice to have somewhere to send people who ask what my music is like.
I agree it is an awful format to navigate.
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