SNS: Public displays of connection

I thought the idea that a "public display of connection" was crucial to a SNS was sort of profound, if obvious when given a little thought. One of my first experiences with social networking was Myspace, and "Friends" there had a very important role. When I would have put someone in my "Top 8" but they didn't see me as someone who belonged in theirs, I got my (real world) feelings hurt. These days, someone knowing someone I know could be enough to "friend them" on facebook, if they give a little explanation of their request. And that's another thing. In the "real world," people don't ask to be your friend. And if they do, they don't ask to be your friend for no reason. Often on Facebook, I allow people to be my friend who I have no intention of ever speaking to.



I enjoyed reading the Boyd and Ellison piece on SNSs, partly because I'd really never thought about the origins of some of these sites until I started this class. I knew everyone was friends with Tom when I was on Myspace and they made a movie about how facebook started, but I've always just thought of it as a "some genius invented a website and made a bunch of money...and I'm glad they did" sort of thing. I was surprised to find that one of the initial reasons for a few of the sites was to connect friends-of-friends, for dating purposes and to simply make friends. I think of SNSs these days (that is, 10 years or so later) as a place to share things with people you know or to try to have some influence.



Under the "SNSs hit the mainstream" subtitle, Boyd and Ellison talk about Myspace, and I found it especially interesting knowing that I was one of the youngsters that got a Myspace. I had no idea that musicians and their fans had been such a huge part of the beginnings of Myspace.



Another thing that really hit me with this piece is the differences in popularity of sites in other countries and in the U.S. I generally think of these sites as "connecting the world," but it seems that just as B&E said that certain subgroups (educated, upper middle class; teenagers; old people, etc) tend to use the sites to segregate themselves, whole nationalities do the same thing. B&E mention at the beginning and throughout the piece that certain SNSs gain popularity in certain countries, something I had never considered. I think it would be intriguing to study what makes certain countries take hold of certain SNSs that completely fail in other countries.

A confession: I haven't seen the movie about facebook. I know, I know, it was an excellent film, but I haven't gotten a chance to see it yet. That being said, I had no idea that it's only been since 2004 that Facebook was created. Since then, college students, then business networks, and now anyone at all can join, and everyone DOES join. It's crazy to think that just six years after it was created to be used only by Harvard students, facebook is a necessity for running a big campaign, finding out about events on campus, staying connected to friends from high school, and on and on.

When discussing the idea of "impression management and friendship performance," the idea that people will push their online profiles to be more like who they want to be rather than who they are seems reasonable, but it hasn't been my experience. Personally, I think I could say things on pages where I have "Friends" or "followers" who know me in real life and get a few "LOL"s if I posted something or had pictures that didn't reflect who I am (or who I seem to be) in person. Also, if I say something that sounds off, I might get a message or two from concerned friends saying they're worried I've been hacked. Given, the research that B&E points to seems to mainly be from 2007, and as we've seen just from a few days in this class, three years has made a lot of difference.
I guess the big question is how these sites are changing our "real" lives. These days, I'm always saying, "the other day my friend was talking about," when I'm referring to something they posted online. Perhaps these sites aren't separate from our "real" lives at all.