The “My Space” website does have its cultural context because it is a social, virtual meeting place where new and old friends can meet. School friends on the run can stop and inform one another to events of the day or week. It also offers individuals the opportunity to meet new friends.
As to the What it is, it is a platform for social communication open to every one around the world. Taking our social needs to a different level where we can stop and instantaneously have a free conversation with someone on the other side of the country. Gaps that used to arise due to geography and life-style are immediately closed through My Space. The gap is no longer out of one’s control as the person is at their finger tips. The when is rather simple, it’s always available no matter what time. Once again it suits the way our society is moving with the busy schedules we all must keep with work, school and social life. The category of where is also simple for it is located at ones finger tips, whether your house, office or school. There is no effort to travel so one can feel relaxed in the security of their private domains.
The last category of cultural context is the “Why” of the website?
This is a little more difficult to answer but more interesting as a website question. On one level it provides for our social needs to converse with others and be in contact with friends. Secondly there are bigger issues to the why when we consider the global nature behind the internet itself. It is a technology that transcends time, national, boundaries, age and culture. To know the events as they happen on the other side of the planet in a matter of minuets is to be truly informed. In the past I remember the phone messages were centered on only special events. Today with the internet the information is more detailed and part of our lives, allowing a simple “Hey wats up,” any time of the day.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
MySpace #1
A website that I visit often is “MySpace.” I try to check it at least once every couple of days. The central focus of this site is to contact friends and make new ones. It is an efficient way to keep in contact with old friends from past schools. Many of my High School friends are spread throughout the country at various colleges. This site keeps us in touch and caught up on the little details of our lives.
The conventions we have are usually simple, in that we offer both visual and text messages. The site is very user friendly, allowing people of all technological experience to use it. The ways of communication are different in website chatting, it takes some skills of abbreviated language to understand what you are reading. There is no doubt that the changes in writing are having consequences in the classroom but that is a problem teachers will have to handle down the road! Now aside from your old friends Myspace also focuses on meeting new friends. There are many ways to go about meeting new friends, for example all user accounts have an About Me section. In this section a person can read a short description of the user written by that user. This is a great way to get to understand that user. Also many accounts have surveys our interests sections were you can see if any of your interests relate to that users. If there are similarities than you can simply click on the “Add Friends” icon and wait for approval from that user.
Now as I said Myspace is not only a written messaging site it also involves visual features. Visuals such as photos are frequently used for identification purposes. However they are also used in a humorous way, for example I know from personal experience that if my friends and I through a party one night, you can definitely expect some pretty funny photos posted on my account the next day! Also Myspace can be used as an information source, for example the site also offers blogs such as this site, which users can subscribe to. There is even a section were a user can set up an event and send out public invitations to that event. This leads me to my last convention of Myspace, and personally I believe it is the most important. Today’s society focuses on one main aspect, money. Money is what drives all of our daily lives. There is no better way to show how you can utilize a name or a service, as simple as a chat room based site, and turn it into a publicly traded company, that is its own manufacturer, record label, search engine, and the list goes on. With over 151,748,170 users, and growing everyday, it is easy to see how prosperous a simple idea like this site can be in today’s society!
The conventions we have are usually simple, in that we offer both visual and text messages. The site is very user friendly, allowing people of all technological experience to use it. The ways of communication are different in website chatting, it takes some skills of abbreviated language to understand what you are reading. There is no doubt that the changes in writing are having consequences in the classroom but that is a problem teachers will have to handle down the road! Now aside from your old friends Myspace also focuses on meeting new friends. There are many ways to go about meeting new friends, for example all user accounts have an About Me section. In this section a person can read a short description of the user written by that user. This is a great way to get to understand that user. Also many accounts have surveys our interests sections were you can see if any of your interests relate to that users. If there are similarities than you can simply click on the “Add Friends” icon and wait for approval from that user.
Now as I said Myspace is not only a written messaging site it also involves visual features. Visuals such as photos are frequently used for identification purposes. However they are also used in a humorous way, for example I know from personal experience that if my friends and I through a party one night, you can definitely expect some pretty funny photos posted on my account the next day! Also Myspace can be used as an information source, for example the site also offers blogs such as this site, which users can subscribe to. There is even a section were a user can set up an event and send out public invitations to that event. This leads me to my last convention of Myspace, and personally I believe it is the most important. Today’s society focuses on one main aspect, money. Money is what drives all of our daily lives. There is no better way to show how you can utilize a name or a service, as simple as a chat room based site, and turn it into a publicly traded company, that is its own manufacturer, record label, search engine, and the list goes on. With over 151,748,170 users, and growing everyday, it is easy to see how prosperous a simple idea like this site can be in today’s society!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)