“What’s it called again honey, My Face?” Try explaining to anyone over the age of 50 the difference between Facebook and MySpace and you’ll get a blank stare. There is a difference though…or so I have heard. In fact, the debate is almost as intense as the pop vs. soda word choice that my friends and I argue about on a regular basis. What’s the difference, and is there a right choice?

“The goodie two shoes, jocks, athletes, or other ‘good’ kids are now going to Facebook” and MySpace is “… home for … ‘burnouts,’ ‘alternative kids,’ ‘art f*gs,’ punks, emos, goths, gangstas, queer kids, and other kids who didn’t play into the dominant high school popularity paradigm.” reports Berkeley Ph.D. student Danah Boyd.

Interesting.I do not have a MySpace account, so I decided to poll 50 of my friends (students at GCC) to see if there was a prevailing attitude towards MySpace or Facebook.

Survey Results

• 33 of the respondents have a only Facebook account
• 0 of the respondents have only a MySpace account
• 3 of the respondents have both Facebook and MySpace
• 1 respondent has neither type of account

RESPONSES

MySpace is for teenie boppers, that for some ungodly reason aren’t bothered by abominable web page designs. I don’t care what or who the account is for, I usually immediately close the window as soon as it’s opened. It always pains me when some artist that I listen to uses MySpace as their only webpage. – Joe

Facebook is much cleaner and fulfills networking purposes much better. The best feature is that the advertisements are never offensively large or “in your face”. In fact it’s easy to forget that the ads are even there, which is probably the biggest reason Facebook wins. That and they don’t let users design their profile page. – Joe

I used to have myspace too, but then I got hit on by a creepy girl I didn’t know. So I deleted it. – Becky

Myspace is so highschool. That’s where I used to go to procure hookups. Now I just show my face in public… – Eric

MySpace sucks. Facebook sucks…less? Myspace is only good for music artists’ pages; facebook is better at social networking – Dustin

Myspace is old and outdated, and creepier people are on there. – Tim

Myspace is for jr-highers (or high schoolers who never grew out of the jr. high phase.) Facebook, however, with all the applications, quizzes, games, top-friends, etc, is turning more and more like myspace. (I think this happened when it became open to everyone.) Myspace also always made me feel like I was getting a virus or something. It just seems shadier. I no longer have a myspace account. – Amanda

Facebook is cleaner and gives the appearance of being safer.  Myspace pages are typically loaded with busy backgrounds and those online quizzes like “What Disney princess are you?” (fun but when you have to scroll through them all to comment it’s a little annoying) – Laura

Facebook took over myspace, myspace is for people behind the times.
Myspace is weird, but not gonna lie, it’s a part of my past… – Corrie

I think that Facebook has better privacy settings and is easier to limit to friends only.  Since its origins as a college network, I see Facebook as reaching an older and more educated population. – Amy

I think people with myspace use it for music mostly. – Barbara

THE VERDICT

My very biased and unscientific poll at least supports the theory that there are perceived class distinctions between Facebook and MySpace.  Forbes Magazine has examined this distinction in terms of advertising. Should advertisers notice the differences and use adds differently on each site to target different audiences? The correct answer is soda, but as far as Facebook vs. MySpace…

The government bailout for the auto and bank industries has an odd similarity to the capital investments poured into Facebook. In both instances, bad money is being thrown after bad money. After the House of Representatives recently passed the bill to continue government bailouts to states – states that are known to be wasteful in spending - and other industries, I was reminded of Facebook’s failure to show a profit. In essence, the government handout intended to lift-up business is parallel to the funds keeping a profit-less company afloat.

It is a well-known fact that Facebook has failed to produce a profit since its inception. Moreover, as reported in a BusinessWeek article in the fall, Facebook runs in a negative cash flow. Such poor financials does not detract the over-zealous Zuckerberg and company from aggressively expanding across the globe for new users or from capital investors offering more cash to fuel their ambitions. The latest installment of 500 million dollars is intended to keep Facebook charging ahead for the next three years.

While the latest efforts of the company in a time of economic downturn have exponentially grown their user base, revenues of MySpace (whom who have half the user base) double that of Facebook. Admittedly, Zuckerberg says that Facebook needs to refine its business model – since they currently do not have one. A culprit for a profitless Facebook traces back to the dim results of online advertising. Other social media networks, such as LinkedIn, that have a subscription tend to operate in the black. Since this concept would not hold-up well in the market of Facebook users, the company needs to innovate their revenue model.

For a company valued in the billions that rolls around in red ink, investors sure do love pouring money into the company. It may the glamour of the idea or the potential that such a social phenomenon has that keeps those investors coming back, but undoubtedly investors should be crying for a clear business and revenue model – and soon.

Have you ever wondered just who may be looking at your personal Facebook page?  Some people like to spice up their page with pictures, quotes, or their entire life story, but the question lies in just who is looking at all this information?

Even though there are numerous privacy settings provided by facebook, that doesn’t entirely prohibit unwanted visitors from taking a glance at your private page.  This is where you have to be careful.  There have been many recent stories where professionials have actually been fired or not been given a job because of content on their Facebook page. 

In particular, teachers are held to high moral expectations, being that they are many role-models to children.  A case in North Carolina’s Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools a teacher may be fired for posting derogatory comments about their students.  This is just one case of many.

Many people might not know this, but just WHO has the right to look at your page?

• Future employers
• School officials

So what should you do?

• Don’t post pictures that you wouldn’t want you boss to see
• Don’t give yourself a status that could be misread or misunderstood
• Watch what other people post on your wall or bumper stickers given
• Make yourself look GOOD not BAD
• Remember that no matter how “private” your page is……….

SOMEONE can always find a way to see it.

Everyone who has a facebook knows that the facebook community is full of  groups, causes, social events, and so much more. What many people don’t expect to see is facebook ministry. Recently, I read an article on The Facebok Blog of a guest blogger Shaun King, pastor of The Courageous Church in Atlanta. In  his blog post Shaun tells of how The Courageous Church utilized facebook in a number of ways:

• Church Start-up
• Advertising
• Group Discussion
• Fund Raising
• Outreach

The results Shaun says is that on the opening Sunday, The Courageous Church had 700 people in attendance! And currently, more than half of the church congregation found Courageous Church through facebook.

The point is that often times we are dogmatic in our approaches to ministry. A changing and technologically advancing world demands new and exciting approaches to ministry in our call to faith. The Courageous Church is a great example of these exciting new approaches.

Tell me about some other unique approaches to ministry, especially online, you guys have seen.

In these modern times, the internet is taken for granted. Nearly every aspect of life can be completed through some type of online portal, and usually with much less frustration and faster results than if you left your computer chair.

• Keep up to date with friends and family next door or around the world
• Visit favorite retailer stores without leaving your house and facing crowds
• Entertain yourself with a lifetime’s worth of multimedia
• Pay bills, save money, and manage your finances online

But have you ever thought where this ever-expanding digital marvel began?

No. Not the basement of a college nerd—but close.

Today’s internet started as a government project for research and defense. It was conceived from the development of two primary networks:

• ARPANET – A US military network. It produced several of the fundamental protocols used by the internet. The threat of nuclear attack during the Cold War fueled the development of a decentralized network.
• CYCLADES – Similar to ARPANET, but this French network focused on efficient and effective data transmission. The inter-communication between its smaller network nodes became coined as “inter-net.”

I won’t bore you with the technical details of how the internet developed–but for the curious, I recommend you check out this “History Of The Internet” video at Vimeo.com.

History of the Internet from PICOL on Vimeo.

Fast forward to today where internet connections are reaching phenomenal levels.  In order to be grateful for the level of technology that is easily accessible to us and how much more convenient it has made our lives, I think it’s important for users to understand where we came from.

I’ve been fortunate to be able to have experienced a broad spectrum of technology. Just in the last five years–from waiting several minutes to check an email account via dial-up, to downloading music and movies on demand over a 10 Mbit connection—internet technology has come a long ways. I know I’m excited and optimistic about the future of the internet and I hope you feel the same.