Episode 42

Apreche

MySpace, LJ, etc. Are they ruiners of social interaction or enhancers? Just crap angsty teens with ugly sites or actually worth a damn?

TheWhaleShark

The sites themselves aren't the problem; there are many interesting Livejournals and/or MySpace's. In fact, a lot of bands use MySpace as their own personal kind of home base, and they can get a lot of people interested in them that way. Both sites CAN be great bastions of social networking, and when used as such, they work fine.

The problem, of course, is that 99% of LJ/MS consists of, in fact, angsty teenage crap or pointless quiz spam bullshit.

I am horrendously guilty of using a LJ and filling it useless quizzes and shit, but sometimes, I feel the need to take a useless quiz or jump on the next meme bandwagon. Mostly, I feel it's best used as a tool to communicate with your friends in a new medium, vaguely the equivalent of having your own little private message board.

Meeting people on these things, I would estimate, is about the most craptacular way to get to know someone that I could imagine. They're more tools to enhance existing social interactions rather than forge new ones.

Rym

"In fact, a lot of bands use MySpace as their own personal kind of home base."

I have to say, I lose a lot of interest in a hurry in a band that uses MySpace as its home. It's fine to advertise there, but you need a real web presence to get my attention these days.

Of course, the same goes for anything. A lot of businesses lose my patronage simply for not being accessible online. I don't bother with Yellow Pages or any of that these days. I expect to be able to find their site, get pricing/open hours information, and driving directions.

My beef with Livejournal, now, is more that I see a lot of people (including friends) using it not as a complement to communication, but as a means itself.

Ametto

I use lj as an announcement page for my friends. It works pretty well in announcing birthday plans and such.

Since I commute everyday for 3 whole hours, lj is a pretty good way to talk to friends, cause I can leave a message to them and I read faster than I listen. Otherwise, if I had the time, I'd call up.

TheWhaleShark

Well, it's another avenue of communication; of course, as a primary communication tool, it leaves much to be desired, and you generally shouldn't communicate things solely in your journal/space, or along any one avenue of communication for that matter. Really, instant messaging is probably the best form of primary 'net communication; I actually prefer IM to the phone, mostly because I don't like non-involved people overhearing my communications.

In-person is naturally the best, and you should always go for the live option when possible.

I do have to agree about the MySpace bands, at least as far as MySpace-only bands are concerned. Those that don't try to establish a larger web presence will probably flounder; however, dudes like Sage Francis use it in conjunction with a website in order to get friendlier with the fans.