Being a boomer, I don't use either. Also, having a computer programming background, I can write my own rudimentary webpages --- not that that skill is anything special in today's world.

This post, Bruce, and Danah's research doesn't surprise me all that much, even though I was not previously aware of subtleties such as FaceBook is for yuppies and MySpace is for outcasts. What doesn't surprise me is that cyberspace, to use a very boomer word, is fractioning, separating and congealing into various cliques and niches, just as the non-virtual economic world has done for centuries. Moreover, it does so not only for economic reasons, but due to reasons concerning socializtion. (Meaning that, if FaceBook had a $1000 sign-up fee, it would not be surprising that only "rich kids" could be found there. Instead, FaceBook and MySpace are both free, but they eventually attract specialized audiences anyway. OTOH, perhaps getting admitted into an .edu institution is just as effective a selection mechanism as charging a $1000 sign-up fee.)

You explain, Bruce, how you have used social networking sites as "a pedagogical tool". Equally interesting is the effect that having access to this social networking site or that one might effect the quality of one's educational experience --- meaning, a student might perform better in school if he or she is successful at finding friends and study-buddies with good disciple and study habits, fuller high school backgrounds, etc. (Conversely, finding friends with bad attitudes toward study and schoolwork is also a possibility. The ultimate example could be the campus drug kingpin who has a FaceBook page that every student hears about sooner or later.)

Bruce, you ask, "[Is this] a sign regarding class divisions in America? Particularly in American Education?" I would say ... it has to be! But for the most part, it is merely the technology, the elimination of geographical distance, and the data volume that has changed --- the forces at work when people interact and pick and choose their peers are largely the same as before, it appears to me.

Perhaps there is currently a difference between the force of the spoken word and the written word, because at the moment we interact with people face-to-face via speech and interact with computers largely thru keyboards --- but this difference will disappear also when computers become more spoken-language-capable, which is without a doubt just around the corner.

Bruce,

I have not used either. I am a Purdue Grad with a computer science minor but I am over 50 so my social networks are face-to-face, phone, email. So I do think there is that divide. (But this divide is more by choice.)

I think there is an even bigger divide than between MySpace and FaceBook with even greater implications for the future. That divide is between those with the money/education which have access and skills to use this technology and those people that do not have access or the skills to use this technology. As technology continues to change, this divide will become even greater.

I am about to graduate college and have accounts on both, but mainly use facebook. I find myspace too cluttered aesthetically (blinking backgrounds, music that plays automatically, obnoxious ads), though facebook is headed that way, IMO. I also like how you can customize more individually who can see what personal info about you on facebook, which you can't do to that extent on myspace. And myspace has a huge problem with spammers who fill your inbox with ads and scams as well as skeezy older men who send creepy, suggestive messages to any "hot" girl (even underage ones - my sister took her page down because she got so much of that sort of thing). Until facebook opened to the public, the .edu address prevented a lot of that, and when it did happen, they were easier to identify and block because they couldn't easily create multiple accounts. I used myspace more in the past out of necessity (keeping in touch with non-school friends, mainly), but now that they can use facebook I definitely prefer that. I think with time facebook will become more integrated like myspace is, as its accessibility to non-college students becomes more known and taken advantage of.

And to add, I've never seen FB as the domain of popular kids exclusively. They're there, but no more so than on myspace, nor do they have the ability to exclude so-called outsiders.

I've always been a Facebook user, but actually resisted joining for a substantial amount of time because "it was what all the cool kids were doing." Clearly, peer-pressure seized the day, as I am now just another Facebook junkie. I have had the same reservation about MySpace until recently, but for different reasons. MySpace has been problematic to me for several reasons: it is not very user friendly, it is extremely difficult to have a decently-designed page, and its reputation for being a site that pedophiles flocked to wasn't exactly warming me over. I liked Facebook because of its gate - not just anyone could get in - which clearly has racist, classist, you-name-it themes going on. One of my friends who goes to Ivy Tech used an extra email account of another friend at Purdue so that he could get a Facebook page. The frenzy that exclusivity caused was certainly apparent. But now, everyone has access, for better or for worse.

The interesting thing is that in an age where everyone is on these systems, you would be foolish not to sign on. However, there are beginning to be serous ramifications for those who are not so cautious with their content - employers now are able to access anyone's Facebook or MySpace page, and possibly not hire you because you at one point joined the "High Fives for Hitler" club as a joke.

I think this research sounds extremely interesting, especially since Facebook and MySpace have both changed so much in the past few years. Facebook is no longer the exclusive club it once was, and its interface and features are now mimicking those of MySpace. It makes you wonder what sort of personal profile program they'll come up with next...

Another site of interest with programs like Facebook is to see the comments that go on in the "clubs" that are created, especially among different demographics. After the Virginia Tech shootings, a Facebook club was created devoted to the memories of those who died, but turned into a hate-mongoring diatribe towards the shooter and all Asians in general. Literally thousands of comments started pouring in, supporting all sorts of things like torturing the shooter had he not killed himself, for example. And those who spoke out against such hate were ripped apart. So, I think there is a lot worth studying there... mob-mentality among college students on interfaces like Facebook clubs. It's really quite frightening.

I have a MySpace page, but nothing on Facebook. I'll create accounts for The Bilerico Project on both and we'll see how it works out...

I used to have a myspace but I deleted it when most of my friends asked me to join Facebook instead. Even when I had myspace I didn't use it a lot because the interface was difficult to work with, the auto-playing music annoying and there was too much spam going on. Now I'm addicted to Facebook. Yes, the friends who asked me to join Facebook were college/high school students. My younger sister, currently attending high school has a myspace but not a Facebook. Her reasons are bands and her friends. That and she thinks that the goths, emos and punks ARE the cool kids.

Please note that I'm talking about high school students in the US. While LGBT groups are more common in high schools than they were when I was growing up, being queer in HS still means social ostracization. I was the first generation of queer teens who turned to the digital world as a sanctuary but this is pretty universal now. For most queer folks, life changes tremendously post-high school.

danah

danah,

It is awesome that you joined the conversation here. I totally agree that life changes pretty dramatically for most queer folks post high school.