Myspace Over the Last Decade

MySpace

Over the last decade the internet has transformed the manner in which people all over the world socialize and connect. The internet social network MySpace.com was one of the first and remains the most popular of all internet social networking sites. The founders of MySpace are Tom Anderson, and Chris DeWolfe and they developed the website in 2003. Although MySpace has many positive attributes, there are also negative and controversial things that have occurred through the website such as cyber bullying and presence of child predators. However, MySpace has forever altered the manner in which people communicate and form networks. The website allows people from across the United States and throughout the world to meet and discuss issues that are pertinent to them.

Introduction

Over the last decade the internet has transformed the manner in which people all over the world socialize and connect. Several websites have been particularly popular as a way to facilitate social interaction. The internet social network MySpace.com was one of the first and remains the most popular of all internet social networking sites.

If you have a teenage child or know any teenage children the term MySpace is a familiar one. The social networking site has taken the nation and the world by storm. The popularity of the site exists in part because of the features that the site provides such as picture galleries and personal profiles. Although teenagers and young adults were the first to embrace the site, it is now home to millions of users from different backgrounds and age ranges.

Not only is the site used to establish relationships but also to sell products and services. A plethora of entrepreneurs from jewelry sellers to recording artists can advertise their products on MySpace. One of the primary reasons for the popularity of the site is the fact that it is free. Just a few years ago it was impossible to advertise for free on the internet in the manner that people now do on MySpace. For this reason many people have flocked to the sight and been able to advertise successfully.

The purpose of this discussion is to examine the phenomenon that is MySpace.

The paper will examine the implications of the site and how it affects people socially. The research will cover several topics including relationships that are developed on MySpace, Making the Website Safer, and the good aspects of the Website. The report will also contain a summary of the findings of the research. Let us begin our discussion with some brief background information on the founders of MySpace.

MySpace Founders

The founders of MySpace are Tom Anderson, and Chris DeWolfe developed the website in 2003. According to an article entitled the Guys behind MySpace.com there were other websites such as Friendster were already running using a similar platform. However, the MySpace founders grew in popularity as a website partly because it allowed recording artists to upload their work and make it available for download, this is a feature that other websites such as Friendster did not possess. The article points out that That turned out to be the home run MySpace needed. All of a sudden, it was cool to be on MySpace. Users jumped onto the site and not only checked out their favorite bands but listed the bands they liked. It created a word-of-mouth buzz that got the music industry's attention. More than a million bands and artists now have MySpace pages (Krantz)."

The artist friendly atmosphere of MySpace has led several well-known recording artists to launch their albums from the site. Needless to say, the site is a great advertising tool toward a specific demographic. Recording artists and record companies alike have recognized the advertising advantages that the site possesses and acted accordingly to use the site to promote artists.

In addition to the features of the website, the profitability of the website lies in advertisement dollars. Because MySpace generates so much traffic advertisers are willing to pay the company substantial sums of money to advertise using banner ads. MySpace was sold to Rupert Murdoch in 2005 for $580 million. There was a great deal of speculation surrounding this purchase but the website has not changed that much since the purchase, with the exception of a few added features.

Both of the founders worked for other internet companies and learned from the mistakes that those companies made. When they decide to launch MySpace they were not sure whether or not their idea would be a good business venture.

The founders of the website had no idea that is would become so popular and grow so substantially in such a short period of time. The following chart provided by "Global Social Network Statistics" is a depiction of the number of visits MySpace and its rivals receive in 2006 and 2007. As you can see, MySpace has garnered the most visits form people under the age of 15 of any social networking sites.

Additionally, the website is most popular in North America and Europe as the following graph shows.

The reality of the growth has been somewhat difficult for the founders but they have been able to maintain a pretty low profile in spite of their entrepreneurial success.

As you can see, the founders of MySpace have created an internet phenomenon. The development of this website platform has transformed the way that people socialize and communicate.

Indeed, there are many implications and effects associated with the popularity of MySpace, the next section of this discussion will explain these implications and effects.

Implications and effects of MySpace

MySpace has forever altered the manner in which people communicate and form networks. The website allows people from across the United States and throughout the world to meet and discuss issues that are pertinent to them. Initially, MySpace attracted individuals under the age of 30 who were looking to socialize and talk to friends on the internet. Although young people still make up a significant number of MySpace users, people of all ages and all walks of life are now members of MySpace.

Creating Cyber Networks

One of the most significant implications or effects of MySpace has to do with the manner in which people use the site. For some, the site has been used to create a network of friends. However, for others the site has been used to prey on users. It has been obvious for quite some time that MySpace is in uncharted waters as it pertains to monitoring and controlling who uses the website and the type of information that is provided.

MySpace has played an instrumental role in the development of cyber networking. The website allows people from all walks of life to come together around a common cause, or artist, or just as a network of friendships. It allows communication amongst and between people who may not have the chance to meet outside of the internet. In many cases people are able to develop meaningful friendships, be introduced to new topics of interests or hear a new the music of a new artist. In other words, MySpace has played an instrumental role in making people both young and old more connected to people outside of the neighborhood or the world that they live in. For instance, MySpace contains members from around the world who interact and share opinions on a wide range of issues. The Website allows people to get to know and understand the issues that concern others. In addition, friends and relatives who live in different parts of the country or the world are able to see one another through pictures, audio, video and messages.

The power of cyber networks is strong and MySpace has inspired other entrepreneurs to start other social networking sites such as FaceBook that have also become very popular. It is evident that the popularity of these sites is here to stay and that there impact on cyber networking will last well into the future.

Cyber Bullying

Cyber Bullying is a problem that was first made evident with the advent of instant messaging. According to an article found in the journal Reclaiming Children and Youth, Cyber Bullying is defined as "the use of information and communication technologies such as e-mail, cell phone and pager text messages, instant messaging (IM), defamatory personal Web sites, and defamatory online personal polling Web sites, to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group, that is intended to harm others (Belsey, 2004)." The article explains that girls are more likely to engage in cyber bullying. The article also explains that the effects of cyber bullying can be just as detrimental as physical bullying because victims are not even safe in their own homes. The article further explains that With advances in technology, home is no longer a haven. Glenn Stutzky, a School Safety Violence Specialist at Michigan State University, said that today's bullies use technology to spread rumors and threats, making life miserable for their victims throughout the day and night. Today's kids have to deal with bullying in its newest forms: text messages, e-mail, websites, online voting booths, and blogs. They cannot escape their bully because he can now follow them home. This is the new reality (Keith & Martin, pg 224).

In the years since the advent of MySpace there have been several cases of cyber bullying. In one case of the cyber bullying Megan Meier committed suicide as a result of a negative MySpace page, she was only 13 years old. In this particular case Megan was engaging in an online relationship with who she thought was a 16-year-old boy through MySpace. Megan and "Josh" communicated through the internet for several weeks. Initially there communications were good but then these conversations turned nasty and "Josh" finally told Megan that the world would be better off without her (Maag). She hung herself after reading this comment while communicating through MySpace.

About six weeks following Megan's death, it was discovered that Josh did not exists and in fact the persona had been a hoax created by some of Megan's neighbors (Maag). These neighbors were adults who used to "Josh" hoax to see if Megan was "talking bad about their child. This case grew nationwide attention, but no charges were filed against the neighbors because they apparently broke no laws (Maag).

In a more recent incident 8 teenagers were charged as adults after luring a classmate to a house and then beating her for half an hour. The beating occurred as a result of messages that the victim supposedly placed on a MySpace page. According to one report "the teens say they did it because the victim was trash-talking them on MySpace. Apparently they felt that by posting the video they could get a double payback by humiliating the girl on the Internet while gaining a little fame (Young)."

In this case six girls are accused of beating the victim, while two boys stood outside and prevented the victim from leaving the house. All eight of the perpetrators will be charged as adults even though only one of them is actually an adult. This was a very brutal attack and the perpetrators videotaped the fiasco and placed the video on the internet. In this instance, it is obvious that no one was properly supervising these children. The parents of the victim were not making sure that she was not putting disparaging remarks up on MySpace and the parents of the perpetrators were not teaching their children how to deal with conflicts in a way that does not involve kidnapping and a brutal beating.

Although it is obvious that more supervision of these children is necessary, many blame MySpace and Youtube for inciting the teenagers because they wanted to experience "fame." However, many other media outlets have replayed the video over and over again since the incident occurred but neither Youtube nor MySpace have the video up for viewing any longer. In fact, Youtube removed the video quite quickly after it was posted. While it is apparent that MySpace and other internet sites could be monitored more carefully, most of the responsibility lies with the parents and if parents cannot control their children it is unclear why people think that these internet social networking sites can do it for them.

These cases point to the difficulty associated with monitoring what people do from the privacy of their own homes. In addition, these incidences are evidence that the laws that govern cyber communications are not as stringent as they should be. Unfortunately there are no easy answers to these very difficult questions. Speaking of Difficult problems to solve the issue of online child predators is also a very serious issue for MySpace that does not have easy answers.

Online Child Predators

In addition to the aforementioned problems associated with MySpace and other social networking sites, the problem of child predators is also a major problem for MySpace and the internet in general. Every since MySpace became a popular site, this has been a major concern. The problem lies in the anonymity of the internet because people can be dishonest and in many cases child predators pose as teenagers and lure children into meeting them in person.

MySpace has been named in several instances of children being molested or raped. In fact in 2006 MySpace was sued by the parents of a 14-year-old who was raped by a man she met on My Space (Bangeman). In this case the girl developed a relationship with this man and one day he picked her up from school, took her to a movie and dinner and then he took her to his apartment and raped her. MySpace was named in the lawsuit because even though it had age requirements they did not verify whether or not the information provided is accurate (Bangeman). As a result, children have routinely been preyed upon by people posing as their peers.

MySpace administrators realize that this is a serious problem and the website has attempted to combat the problem.

On more than one occasion MySpace has swept the website and been able to find and remove predators that were posting on the site. However, removing all the predators is a difficult challenge because of the anonymity of the internet. To this end MySpace has also created a Child Predator blocks. MySpace is working in conjunction with various states to fight child predators that operate over the internet. According to CNN MySpace has entered an agreement with 45 states to prevent online predators from getting access to children through MySpace ("MySpace, states move to block sex offenders").

Under this agreement MySpace will work with other companies and agencies to develop new technologies to combat the problem. MySpace has also agreed to a more accurate of checking date of birth and other facts about subscribers. In addition, the website will agree to independent monitoring ("MySpace, states move to block sex offenders"). According to the article MySpace will also agreed to Permit parents to submit e-mail addresses of their children to MySpace to stop people form using the addresses to create MySpace profiles.

Allow the default setting to be "private" for 16- and 17-year-old minors.

Respond to complaints within a72-hour time period as it pertains to inappropriate content and hire additional staff and allocate more resources to classify pictures and discussion groups.

Enhance software so that underage users can be identified.

Develop a section of the site that is only for high school users under the age of 18 ("MySpace, states move to block sex offenders").

MySpace hopes that adressing the aforementioned issues wil assists in preventing predators access to the children the frequent MySpace. Addressing this issue has long been a concern for state legislators and for MySpace. It is a difficult undertaking because many federal and state laws were written at a time when technologies such as MySpace were not even thought of or considered. With this being understood legislators througout the country have been forced to scramble to ensire that the laws are consistent with the technologies that exist.

The problem of Child predators online did not begin with MySpace and it probably will not end with the networking site.

However, it is apparent that MySpace is making a concerted effort to prevent child predators from using the site to lure victims. It is a very difficult problem to confront because of the amount of traffic the site has on a daily basis and the number of people who have MySpace pages. All in all it appears that the site is doing all it can to protect children from child predators, but a great deal of the responsibility will be on the shoulders of parents to take the time and monitor the online activity of their children.

Music and Recording Artists

MySpace also has implications for recording artists and has had an effect on the recording industry. For unsigned or underground recording artists MySpace has become a place where artists can share their work with people across the world. People can listen to and download sons from up and coming artists. It has proven to be a great and efficient way to advertise and attract people to new artists. In some cases MySpace in combination with other internet sites have created a unique place for unsigned or independent artists to get their music heard and to connect with the public.

In addition, artists who are signed to a record label find MySpace to be an excellent way of connecting with fans in a more personal way. MySpace allows artist to upload videos and audio. In some cases artists have video or audio blogs on their MySpace pages as a means to keep fans and the public aware of new projects and so on. One article explains that MySpace Music is the prime convergence point for bands and fans. Users can search for artists by name, genre, location or keyword. The section promotes new and well-established acts through exclusive content such as streaming audio and video...the site allows small bands to make a name for themselves without spending time and money on the menial tasks usually associated with band development (Belzman)."

Overall MySpace eliminates that middle man and allows singers and musicians to deal directly with the public. In many cases the singers or musicians are not trying to hit it big or achieve world wide success, they may just want to expose the public to their music. On the other hand, already established artists and their record labels are always looking for ways to utilize the website to promote artists and their projects. Overall it seems that MySpace has proven to be a useful tool as it relates to singers and musicians regardless of whether or not they are signed.

With the current condition of the Music Industry the presence of MySpace may prove to be detrimental to the record business in the long room. This detriment is likely to occur because many upcoming singers and bands no longer need the backing of record labels. These individuals can post music, videos, and concert dates on MySpace for free. They can also use other popular free sites in conjunction with their MySpace pages. Again MySpace allows these individuals to eliminate the middle man and introduce their music to a very large audience.

In addition to the aforementioned issues associated with MySpace, the networking site has also changed the way that colleges and employers view applicants. Some colleges will search the internet to see if an applicant has a MySpace page. If the applicant does have a page on MySpace, the college or employer may look to see of there is any suggestive language or material. In some cases people are denied admission to certain colleges or denied certain jobs because of the information found on a MySpace page. This is a major way in which MySpace has forever altered the way in which colleges and employers choose applicants.

For some employers looking applicants up on social networking sites can be a way of learning more about their character and to see how their MySpace profile correlates with the information filled out on an application. Many employers also examine the MySpace Pages of younger applicants who may not have mush work experience to get some glimpse into their character. If the employer sees questionable behavior the applicant may not get hired. Many people feel that this is unfair and some have even suggested that employers be banned from visiting the MySpace pages of applicants. In fact in the United Kingdom there has been a call for employers to be banned from When young people put up their personal profiles they are not thinking about job applications or university applications. Typically they are simply talking to their mates. Employers or admissions tutors who delve into these places are being highly and inappropriately intrusive...We believe the practice should be outlawed or, at the very least, major employers...should make clear that it is an unacceptable practice in their own organisations (Whitehead)."

One article explains that photos of college applicants posing with guns or beer have caused many to be overlooked for admission to colleges throughout the country. The article explains that many students have appeared on MySpace in the nude or smoking marijuana. Not only can these students be held accountable for pictures but also for what they write on their MySpace pages about teachers or other authority figures.

In some cases people who were already in school have been expelled or suspended because school authorities have seen the pictures or read the disparaging remarks.

The article explains that many teenagers and young adult view MySpace as a place to go to socialize and be free. However, adults often view MySpace as a place that young people display their true selves, not realizing that everyone has access to what they post and that what is posted can change or be detrimental to their lives forever.

At public universities it is rather difficult to prevent students from posting what they want on their MySpace pages because of Free Speech and privacy rights. However at private universities students can be expelled for certain things that appear on their MySpace pages because most private colleges have a code of conduct that students agree to abide by. Students at public high schools and junior high are also restricted because they are usually minors and the schools have the authority to act as loco parentis; that is they can act or react in place of the parents.

With these things being understood students and those seeking employment have to be very careful concerning the type of information that they place on their MySpace pages. People who have profiles on MySpace must realize that once they put something on the web that is disparaging or controversial, those words and/or images will remain there forever. Parents and teachers must be consistent in reminding students of this reality.

Relationships

MySpace has also changed the way in which people form romantic relationships. Instead of people being introduced in a traditional way, MySpace users are often introduced to one another by becoming MySpace friends. In some cases people form relationships through MySpace and communicate through MySpace for long periods of time. In some cases they end up meeting one another and the relationship may progress and go further.

In some ways MySpace and the internet in general has changed the way that people date. This change has come because MySpace provides people with profiles that contain pictures, hobbies, occupation, age and place of residence. By the time people actually talk on the phone or email one another, they already know a great deal about their lives. In the past people actually had to talk to someone on the telephone or face-to-face to find out the type of information that is now available through the internet.

In some ways this can be a good thing because one is aware of whether or not they may be compatible with an individual before wasting to much time in a relationship. On the other hand, MySpace and other social networking sites can be deceptive because people can be dishonest about their age, occupation or hobbies. People can also use another person's photo. In this way dating or getting to know someone through MySpace can be a difficult undertaking.

Overall it is apparent that building relationships through MySpace can be a tricky prospect. In many cases people really are being honest about who they are and what their intentions are. On the other hand there are many people who frequent these sites that are dishonest about who they are and their intentions. In either case people have to be careful with the types of relationships that they develop through these social networking sites. With these things being understood, the next section of our discussion will focus on Parental Monitoring and making MySpace Safe.

Parental Monitoring of MySpace and making MySpace safe

As a result of the aforementioned problems that can arise with the use of MySpace, parents and guardians have become more active in monitoring the MySpace pages of their children. There are many different ways that this can be done. Some parents simply stand over their children and monitor their every move while they are on the site. Others use more savvy methods of monitoring their children with special software that is now available and is specifically designed to monitor MySpace.

MySpace itself has parental monitoring software as do other companies. This software is available on the internet and some computers come equipped with this technology.

Everyone agrees that social networking sites need to be safer, mainly because there are so many children who frequent these sites.

Lawmakers in several states are exploring ways to make social networking sites-like MySpace, Friendster, Xanga and others -- safer for kids. On these sites, young people and others can create their own online profiles with pictures, personal information, diary entries, and lists of online friends. Sometimes the profiles and personal information provided have made it too easy for sexual predators to contact kids. In Connecticut last year, six alleged sexual assaults involving older men and underage girls were tied to MySpace, along with dozens of similar arrests nationwide (Making MySpace Safer,2007)."

As was stated previously in this report, MySpace has made a concerted effort to help to control the MySpace content. This task is overwhelming and it seems that it would behoove parents to pay greater attention to what their kids are doing over the internet. Although both the state and federal governments must take what ever actions they can to prevent pedophile from preying on children and cyber bullying. However it is ultimately parents and guardians who are responsible for ensuring that their children are safe even while they are on the internet.

Utilizing MySpace for Good

Although there have been some rather high profile negative incidents associated with MySpace, the site can be used for good and productive purposes. As a matter of fact there are MySpace page that offer support to users as it relates to addiction, depression, and divorce. People can log on or join these communities and receive the advice and support they need to get through very difficult times in their lives.