what totally drives me up the wall with most of the social networking sites is their inability to understand that someone might actually want to CANCEL an account!
The vast majority don't let you turn off or delete your "own" account. That is so against the most basic rules of web management that quite frankly any of them gets my downed thumb just for that!
flopflips
· 2 years ago
I signed up for a FaceBook account recently, just to see what it was like, and it was pretty easy to delete the account. I've never tried with any of the other sites. And I totally agree that the MySpace pages are more often than not really ugly affairs. Plus I get lots of people hot-linking images and flash off my site to use on MySpace. I know there are ways to stop that, but I haven't got around to doing it yet! An interesting post Jake - thanks!
Jake
· 2 years ago
MySpace also allows you to cancel your account. I'm not able to find anything analogous for my LinkedIn profile. Although they did downgrade my completeness percent to 95% now that they support pictures.
My guess is that the smaller the user base, the harder they make it to cancel/delete your account.
Vijay Sreekantan
· 2 years ago
I can understand facebook, linkedin, orkut and all the other sites. I have accounts in all of these. But, I never understand myspace. In this day and age, how can they make such an ugly website and still be the most popular website.
Jake
· 2 years ago
Yeah, MySpace starts you off with such a blah UI that it's no wonder people like to customize it. There's a cottage industry solely around MySpace profile templates, which tells you how much time it takes to make your profile fit you exactly. I think time is the reason it's so popular, i.e. working people don't have it, so Facebook is good enough. Young people have more time to make MySpace fit them, to build an online brand. Time invested is why they stay number 1. It's actually a good, targeted product for the demographic, but we'll see how they evolve with stiffer competition. My main gripe is the UI functions are less than intuitive, esp the messaging.
Pedro
· 2 years ago
Have you checked www.hi5.com ? It has a nice and simple interface not very customizable, but have some nice drag and drop features :)
cheers, p.
Jake
· 2 years ago
Haven't tried hi5 yet. I'm pretty tapped out with networks on Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter, Pownce, Upcoming, orkut, etc. Maybe someday. When I get there, I'll have one at least friend to start.
Jake
· 2 years ago
Pedro: Noticed today that hi5 has an API already. Maybe this weekend I'll pop over there and have a look.
byron
· 2 years ago
Honestly, its easier to navigate myspace than it is to navigate some of oracles products so its like the Pot calling the kettle black ;) Aside from that myspace thrives because it isn't a rigid foundation. Social networking is something that should allow for freedom and with freedom comes disparity but between the disparity comes relationships that can build because you discover more. The other social sites are really just boring and too commercial for my likes. I don't bother with any of them over and beyond some of my hobbies i participate in and marketing thereof but again, myspace allows me to build a more personal community better than anything else because it is myspace.
Both serve a purpose but as someone who likes seeing expression no matter how wrong it may appear in ones view i'd take myspace over facebook anyday.
Jake
· 2 years ago
byron: Agreed, aside from the comparison of social networking to enterprise software, which is like comparing the digging capabilities of a spoon to a backhoe. Sure the spoon has a more easy to use "interface", but it's not a very good digging tool. Sometimes you need more features, which complicates the interface.
Anyway, the self-expression thing is definitely a plus for MySpace over Facebook, if that's what you want from a social network. I really think it's a time/demographic issue, i.e. MySpace users spend more time to brand themselves because they are generally younger and presumably have more time for that exercise. This also appeals to marketing and branding entities that want to target that demographic.
Facebook's trim interface focuses on the social features, which shortcuts the UI stuff.
All Comments
The vast majority don't let you turn off or delete your "own" account. That is so against the most basic rules of web management that quite frankly any of them gets my downed thumb just for that!
My guess is that the smaller the user base, the harder they make it to cancel/delete your account.
I think time is the reason it's so popular, i.e. working people don't have it, so Facebook is good enough. Young people have more time to make MySpace fit them, to build an online brand. Time invested is why they stay number 1.
It's actually a good, targeted product for the demographic, but we'll see how they evolve with stiffer competition.
My main gripe is the UI functions are less than intuitive, esp the messaging.
It has a nice and simple interface not very customizable,
but have some nice drag and drop features :)
cheers,
p.
Both serve a purpose but as someone who likes seeing expression no matter how wrong it may appear in ones view i'd take myspace over facebook anyday.
Anyway, the self-expression thing is definitely a plus for MySpace over Facebook, if that's what you want from a social network. I really think it's a time/demographic issue, i.e. MySpace users spend more time to brand themselves because they are generally younger and presumably have more time for that exercise. This also appeals to marketing and branding entities that want to target that demographic.
Facebook's trim interface focuses on the social features, which shortcuts the UI stuff.