Scobleizer - Latest Comments in Back home from MySpace

Re: Back home from MySpace

Joe Shmoe — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 13:43:24 -0000

Myspace has problems, yes, but its not nearly as annoying as facebook.

First off, if you want to do anything on facebook you have to "install an application". and you must let that application access your information, otherwise you cannot use it.

Thats scary. What kind of information are they accessing? Are they saving it at some off-site data center? To be used against me someday?

Secondly, you get so many random useless invites every day "Be a Ninja!" "Be a Pirate!" "Pet a Bear!" or whatever inane crap that they can think of.

Facebook is definitely aspiring to be the next myspace. With every update myspace adds (top friends, friend updates, etc) Facebook emulates (poorly).

At least with myspace i can use all of its functions without installing anything.

I'll admit that even though i have just bagged on facebook, i do prefer it to myspace.

because since both are so bogged down with useless fluff, the only thing i can use to choose one over the other is the user interface.

and that cup goes to facebook.

in my opinion, i get more satisfaction from social interaction from MMOs or email than i do from these bland attempts at a social interaction system.

i think the networking site that will win out in the end is one that gives you full control over everything you see and do. but skips past all the formatting bullshit that myspace requires.
html is great but when you have 20 odd million teenagers who only know how to make the cliche yellow text with flashing purple background, it really cheapens the experience.

i think you should have to do a html certification test before you could use it on myspace.

not that it would change a whole lot. but it would certainly change a whole little.

and every little bit counts.

Re: Back home from MySpace

heatxsink — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 19:20:35 -0000

Yes, myspace has done an excellent job at building out some technology to help their users eliminate spam! Please turn it on, and watch all of those pesky lame (but very hott) women stop friend requesting you.

Re: Back home from MySpace

Tomas — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 19:10:23 -0000

Stop complaining about SPAM on MySpace. Go to your account settings and set the appropriate SPAM settings and there will be no more SPAM...

Give it a shot! :)

Re: Back home from MySpace

Steve — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 18:23:49 -0000

Dudek looks a lot like ... what's his name... the Indiana Jones-type character from the original Jurassic Park.

Pretty cool that you got to check out and actually be social with MySpace (as opposed to only in the virtual world). Looking forward to the follow-ups.

Wanted to let you know about a newsreader out there that exists that bases it's content on what the user actually WANTS to see. It's called 'Sprout'. Very intuitive, quickly learns what you like to read and what doesn't interest you. There's a free trial on now. You can find it here: www.yoursprout.ca.

Re: Back home from MySpace

mk — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 13:08:32 -0000

Just a quick FYI - your flickr photos are marked with Attribution.

Re: Back home from MySpace

Brian Sullivan — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 11:41:55 -0000

So on another note -- whose signature is on the Telecaster (I am assuming Telecaster)?

Re: Back home from MySpace

meechwings — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 11:13:23 -0000

I gotta agree with Adam S and the other detractors.

True, MySpace has a reach unlike any other, and it has become the de facto advertising platform for the teen generation (hence all those posts from cool concerts).

But I gotta disagree about the "freedom" it gives its users. Ever try to put in a properly formatted CSS document into a MySpace page? You can't because their backwards defenses against people hacking their pages prohibit you from addressing elements by ID. Or how about posting content from certain sites? Nope, blocked: http://www.news.com/MySpace...

As for the unlimited user thing? What's the point of that when half of your 100 million friends are nothing but spam bots schilling for some adult website?

Until the typical MySpace page isn't fugly (I'll take readable over yellow+purple any day) and doesn't blast my ears the instant I visit it, I'll take Facebook over MySpace any day (as a disclaimer, I do have a MySpace and a Facebook).

Re: Back home from MySpace

Marcin Grodzicki — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 04:26:16 -0000

Boy, but you seem to get a lot of hot comments on your posts :) I wonder why people read this blog if they think everything they wrote here about you and your opinions.
As to Myspace: 1. it's still way ahead of facebook (users etc). 2. I guess it's (statisticaly) more popular than FB outside US. 3. It get's free promotion in music industry (feature FB doesn't have). I don't know anything about cash-flow of either, but judging on the numbers Myspace should do a lot better. 4. Anderson adding himself as anyones friend is plain stupid (just my opinion).

And if they have some cool ideas - I don't see a reason to bury them just because they come from myspace.

Re: Back home from MySpace

Sjoerd Verweij — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 04:08:41 -0000

Robert, let me reiterate my points from the short-lived discussion we had months ago.

I think nothing, not a single motherfarking Iota has.

- Where is the money?
- What good does the platform do?
- No, really, you obviously don't ask yourself this: What good does the platform do?
- My old saw, from the previous: how are you better, cheaper or easier than existing services? I think you need 2. Where's Facebook?
- Again; saturation is truly becoming saturation. Those that don't know truly don't care. They know about Google, if you're lucky. Getting that kind of penetration is INSANE.

For now, that'll have to do :-)

Re: Back home from MySpace

Sjoerd Verweij — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 03:59:25 -0000

It's amazing how polarizing MySpace continues to be.

For the record, I hate it -- for the specific "how the fark can you allow automagic-playing crappy music to assault me" type of reason.

Everyone I know TAKES TIME TO TURN DOWN THE VOLUME BEFORE THEY GO TO A MYSPACE PAGE.

I can NOT believe how this has not been fixed. It is a one-time, easy, across the board, what-do-you-lose fix.

Well, I guess that's why MySpace is not Facebook.

Facebook seems to be aspiring to be the next MySpace though.

The word is ex-fad. Ch-ch-ch-chia.

Re: Back home from MySpace

aiusepsi — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 20:49:39 -0000

I would rather have my eyes gouged out and my ears ripped off than use MySpace.

Which is actually rather like the experience of using MySpace. It's horrific. Sure, it gives you powerful tools to reshape your profile page, problem is as with any tools it's far easier to produce something ugly than something beautiful, so the vast majority of MySpace pages are a brutal assualt on the senses.

It's just dire. There may be hundreds of millions of people on it, or whatever, but in the long run Facebook is going to eat it alive.

Re: Back home from MySpace

Kennard — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 19:12:01 -0000

Robert...

What camera are you using for these great pics?

Re: Back home from MySpace

Larry — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 16:28:13 -0000

The problem with the freedom they give users is that most people have something equally as bad as yellow text on a blinking purple background.

Re: Back home from MySpace

Christopher Coulter — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 15:20:16 -0000

HTML circa 1996, spam-opt-in posing as a "social network", fake gerbil-like online "friends" activity, celebrity and band advertising the height of the intellectual reach, crude and insane comments (posters that even make Digg and YouTube commenters look good), filled to brim with online sociopaths, all with no real application for anyone over 21.

In a perfect world, MySpace wouldn't exist, but then I have tons of email "friends" that STILL do inane FWD jokes from late 90's, suckers a second. But only a matter of time, (one can hope) until all get jaded and cynical.

Facebook to Scoble-hate took less than 2 weeks. MySpace, I predict, would take 2 days. Anytime the Scoble hype hits high-gear, just give it 2 weeks or so...as a 180 right around the corner.

Re: Back home from MySpace

Trevor Carpenter — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 13:54:15 -0000

I stopped using MySpace when 4 out of 5 invites were to join some whore's group of friends.

I want my online activity to be real and not loaded with the kind of spam that makes normal folks hate the internet.

Re: Back home from MySpace

Open English — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 13:22:36 -0000

I completely agree with Adam. Myspace lets the owner of the individual page do whatever they want, but whoever is visiting it has no control over what they see, hear, or how long it takes for the page to load. That's why I think they're on the way out.

Re: Back home from MySpace

len20 — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 12:33:17 -0000

I stopped using MySpace after all of my text links broke and for some reason became unrepairable. I just don't believe in its reliability.

Re: Back home from MySpace

seattlenewbie — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 11:56:47 -0000

I would prefer if everyone would just get a wordpress.org or wordpress.com blog! It would make life a lot better for everyone. That said, I use Facebook mostly for my international friends (UK,AU,NZ,CA,etc) and I use myspace for...uhhhhhh....well not much, but I have a page. There are a few people that I can only get in touch with on myspace so if I need to contact them I log in.

Re: Back home from MySpace

miroslodki — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 11:04:46 -0000

My Space will gain ascendancy if they embrace opensocial AND data portability

on the first front - it gives them access to open source apps
that will - given the size of the camp - eclipse FB

on the second front - smart social networks will come to understand the wisdom of the 'if you love them set them free' philosophy that many espouse but few put into practise.

And adopting a Plaxo approach to identity/content management

anyhow
exciting times
Billions at stake
Social media reminds me of the Russian saying
"Tovarich - we are all equal - its just that some of us are more equal than others"

Pass the popcorn
Miro
http://miroslodki.wordpress...
http://www.canadianmarketin...

Re: Back home from MySpace

Adam S — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 10:40:12 -0000

Scoble - the problem isn't that you CAN put purple on yellow or add blinking and scrolling Flash, it's that you don't know it's coming and you can't turn it off.

You can unknowingly load a page that has 1.5 MB of embedded "THANKS 4 THE ADD DOOOD" photobucket images, a flux of inane comments, and flash that triggers a cacaphony of noise and blinking. And that's obnoxious. And that's why so many people hate it, because it's not only ugly, it can flat out hijack your browser.

If I could turn off this embedding without adding plugins or custom CSS to my browser, I might not be boycotting MySpace.

Re: Back home from MySpace

shareme — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 10:10:46 -0000

Robert, what is this sleep you speak of??? Just kidding..get some sleep

Re: Back home from MySpace

Wills — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 06:49:54 -0000

Oh noes. Start the MySpace loving cycle on Scobleizer.com

Expect you to flip and become a MySpace hater in about 3 months :)

Re: Back home from MySpace

TonyLa — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 04:26:15 -0000

Myspace has an immature image to get over. There's potential there but it's a spamfest of the highest order and seems aimed at teenagers rather than budding individuals, which is a shame.

One day a platform will find the comfortable reach of livejournal and combine it with the "trendy" set for everyone to have their own little space.