Myspace’s abundance of ways to update and change your profile has been one of it’s biggest selling points. You can upload pictures, change your status to reflect your mood, add your favorite band’s songs…etc. But the most common way to express yourself is ironically not directly supported by Myspace.com.
By the use of HTML and CSS coding languages, users can change their profile’s background, content boxes, fonts, colours, pictures and a whole host of other options. I have updated my profile layout around 3 – 5 times since it’s creation, mostly due to changing tastes, or simply out of boredom.
This ability to change your profile has created an opportunity for thousands and thousands of profile code generating websites. A Google search for “Myspace profile editor” returns over 3 million sites (Google Search, 2007).
The irony comes in the fact that although Myspace allows users to change and modify their profile’s content (as long as they don’t cover up the advertisements (Myspace.com, 2007), they do not have any systems in place to do this in-house. They do not have their own generators, and ignore any inquiries about coding issues.
Surely this service would be unbelievably beneficial to users, not to mention profitable to Myspace itself as users would be staying on the website and viewing more advertisements (instead of the plethora of advertisements on the various code-generating websites).
Still, Myspace continues to gain users wishing to express themselves online. But what makes us want to express ourselves?
I believe that in the individualistic culture we live in, having a personalized online profile is another expression of the self. And Myspace freely allow that expression. You can put anything and everything on your profile you wish, as long as it doesn’t include any offensive material (pornography etc.).
I think this expression of the self is why so many of today’s youth sign up to Myspace. It gives them the freedom to express themselves in ways they may not be able to at school or at home. And it’s all free, another big selling point.
Myspace has realized that they cater to a younger audience and often advertises and shapes its content to this target demographic.
In the end, this youth-based culture may work against Myspace. As social networking becomes the norm and older generations begin to invest themselves, Myspace may loose these new users who are looking for more adult interaction and an ease-of-use that Myspace currently lacks. I myself have been constantly frustrated by the clunky user interface. I recently opened a Facebook account, and although approaching it from a different angle and offering different services, it is a whole lot easier to use.
Only time will tell.
Update October 16
As mentioned in the previous week’s update, Myspace have made some radical changes. I find the new interface a lot more user friendly. Myspace deserve some credit, although they seem to have taken a lot of ideas from its rival Facebook.
References & Quoted Links
- Myspace.com. (2007). MySpace.com Terms of Use Agreement. Available: http://www.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=misc.terms. Last accessed 27 October 2007.
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