March 16th, 2006
MySpace Is a Ticking Time Bomb
I’ve been dreading this post, but I can’t avoid saying this any longer — MySpace is a DEEPLY DISTURBING place. It’s so disturbing that I’m convinced that the vast majority of the Web 2.0 fan club who gush over MySpace has NEVER actually spent any time on MySpace.
I’m not the first to raise a red flag:
Sex, Crimes, and MySpace
MySpace Isn’t for Advertisers, It’s for Sex
Scenes From the MySpace Backlash
Prosecutors: Men used MySpace.com to meet underage girls for sex
Try doing a Google News search for “MySpace murder” or “MySpace sex” and check out all the stories in reputable local media outlets (which have no obvious ax to grind with MySpace).
Still not disturbed? Try spending some time on MySpace. See how long it takes you to find sexually suggestive or explicit content.
Or, try going to the MySpace page of Reuters CEO Tom Glocer (which I found via I Want Media). Check out his friends, click around, and see what you make of what you find.
I’m going to be accused of fraternizing with Nick Carr for saying this, but this is what you get when you remove all social barriers — you get humanity in the raw.
Is this new to the web? Of course not. Is it limited to MySpace? Of course not. Does that mean we should start talking about censorship and regulation? I’m not going to touch that third rail — and I really don’t have any answers.
I’m not going to do a moral critique of MySpace or Web 2.0 or anything else — that’s not my gig.
I will say this — my greatest fear of MySpace is as a parent. That’s my personal view, which I won’t try to foist on to anyone else.
But as Web 2.0 watcher, I have a strong view from a business perspective, which leads me to this prediction: Rupert Murdoch will come to regret the purchase of MySpace.
Why? Because the reality is that MySpace can’t be controlled, and that’s a liability.
Yes, I know, Web 2.0 is all about “ceding control” to the “edge.” But MySpace pushes this evolution to the extreme.
Before you respond, let me be repeat — this is NOT a moral critique. It’s a practical, business critique.
“Social media” may be all the rage, but “society” functions best somewhere in between anarchy and fascism. Let it drift too far to one extreme, and things can get ugly.
And when things get ugly, it’s hard to sell advertising.
UPDATE
When you’re accused of being alarmist, you have to ask yourself whether everyone else knows something you don’t (i.e. criticism is valid) or whether you’re a cat wandering into a flock of complacent pigeons (i.e. criticism is not valid). In this case, I can’t claim to know which it is. I’ve heard a lot of passionate defenses of MySpace. But I’ve also heard a lot of fallacious arguments, like:
MY child doesn’t do anything bad on MySpace, therefore ALL children are safe on MySpace.
Children I know on MySpace are, as far as I can perceive, “stellar students, athletes, musicians and people,” and therefore there’s nothing to worry about.
Advertising on MySpace is growing, and will therefore continue to do so.
MySpace is virtual, and therefore the any potential danger is virtual.
Anyone who thinks there’s anything possibly wrong with MySpace must not “get it.”
There’s an orthodoxy to Web 2.0 that defines any criticism a priori as nay-saying, alarmist, or failing to “get it.” Kind of reminds me of the Bush administration’s (now failing) technique for deflecting criticism. In the end, I’d rather err by being alarmist than err by being naive.
But let’s say that I’m completely wrong (which is very possible), and that MySpace is good wholesome fun for people under 18. From a business perspective, the issue is not the reality but the PERCEPTION.
Let’s say parents being “alarmists” and media outlets acting as “fear mongers” are being unjust towards MySpace — if advertisers come to PERCEIVE that their ads on MySpace may appear next to content they really can’t fell good about, I still fail to see how MySpace will be a cash cow.
But NO, Web 2.0 will argue, advertisers need to stop insisting on control. Consumers are in control.
Well, indeed they are. Media and marketing has become fundamentally social. But society only functions when there are some shared norms and standards — and some laws to protect people’s rights from being violated. In a democracy there is a constant debate over what the laws and standards should be, but there’s no question that there need to be SOME.
If we say to people, especially children, here’s a place where anything goes, you can’t depend on individual restraint and responsibility to prevent people from getting hurt — especially people who are 18 — as a society we have decided that people under 18 DO NOT have sufficient judgment to make certain decisions, e.g. voting and drinking.
I may sound awfully moral, but I’m not advocating for any particular standard. I just saying that there need to BE some.
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Scott, have you spent much time around groups of teenagers? They act in *exactly* the same way. I’ve heard much worse from the little urchins that pass me on the street every afternoon on their way home from school.
All Myspace is doing is removing the barriers *you* face in witnessing this subculture in a mostly unmediated form (the kids aren’t what you see on MTV). There are positive and negative sides to this. For example, it makes it possible to dive into an arbitrary group of people and extract some value (like, for example, the song ‘Vans’ at http://www.myspace.com/wolfpackmusik) even if I find the community’s norms terrifying (like, for example, the comments on http://www.myspace.com/wolfpackmusik).
Maybe we should call these edge incompetencies?
Phil, like I said, I’m not passing moral judgment on teenage behavior. (And I’m not so old that I don’t remember being a teenager.)
My point is that I don’t think News Corp is going to be successful selling advertising alongside teenage behavior in the raw.
And even if they can, how about selling ads alongside sexual predators?
A better “kids on the street” analogy might be this: The teenagers have to walk through a part of town where people can reside and behave anonymously. Sort of a red-light district for people who don’t want to be caught doing what they do.
Given the protection of anonymity, a certain percentage of the human race will do things the rest of us wish they wouldn’t. If MySpace provides that protection, then there’s more happening on that street than just hormone-laden adolescents scoring points off each other.
If you knew that sexual predators hung out, anonymously, at Big Mac, wouldn’t you have some reservations about allowing your kids to go there? Why should MySpace be any different? The technology of the web is wonderful, but people remain people.
I completely agree with you on this Scott. I too have children who, as a parent, I have asked to avoid myspace. I also have a friend with a band who uses myspace as a main means of exposure for the group. However, as a whole myspace reminds me of a bad accident where guts are hanging out everywhere. Someone should be at the perimeter saying “move along… nothing to see here.”
MySpace can’t be controlled in any practical way without killing the goose. Whether News Corp really understands that is debatable. Perhaps their arrogance feeds their denial about the reality of MySace? Who knows?
As a practical business matter though, what’s important to advertisers is reaching that prime demographic. An advertiser really does not care how those teenagers behave as long as they are buying! I’d be very surprised if MySace has very much excess ad inventory.
And yes, it’s a very scary place for old farts, but so is an after hours under age dance club. And anywhere else teens gather. Teens are scary holmes!
*warning personal disclosure*
When I was a teen, back in the day, my mom had a cop drag me to the barber shop for a cut. The cop was shaggin my aunt so he did what was asked of him. Long hair was important back then and I was devistated. I ran away from home multiple times after that. After a series of foster homes I was out on my own. My mom saw me twice in 20 years after that. She was scared of my teenage life and tried to control it. It did not work, and the consequences were severe for both of us.
Teach your children well, give em a safe basecamp and leave em be…
MySpace Is a Ticking Time Bomb MySpace Is a Ticking Time Bomb I ve been dreading this post, but I can t avoid saying this any longer MySpace is a DEEPLY DISTURBING place. It s so…
[...] MySpace is a DEEPLY DISTURBING place. It’s so disturbing that I’m convinced that the vast majority of the Web 2.0 fan club who gush over MySpace has NEVER actually spent any time on MySpace. [via Publishing 2.0] Filed under: Tools and Blogs Comments: [...]
Myspace is a stalker/pervert’s dream. All they have to do is go to the Myspace search and put in their zip code. All the photos are there. Kids put in their full name, school, favorite hangouts, personal interests, and all kinds of personal information.
I don’t think anyone under 18 should be able to publish a public profile, but how do you enforce that? They allow kids as young as 14 to register legitimately; many 12 and 13 year olds lie to get in. Go through the process of signing up on Myspace yourself, and you can see how a 13 year old might naively enter all kinds of personal data because they thought it was needed to register for the site and all their friends were doing it.
I’d go one step further Scott, marketers don’t like the very idea of an uncontrolled environment for their advertising, let alone the “known unknowns” of MySpace.
Best - Trevor
They really should make it impossible for minors to register without seeing a strong warning against using their full names or posting their schools, in large enough letters that they can’t miss it.
LiveJournal has some of the same problems, with some very unsavory communities (for “childlove” and so forth).
Saying ‘no obvious ax to grind’ then talking about selling advertising in the same post is either naive or disingenuous.
If you’d like to read what an academic researching MySpace has to say, instead of a hack on a deadline, head over to danah’s blog.
A nice and fresh view on this problem.
Oh and whats between anarchy and fasicm? Democracy. And thats whats myspace and likes miss most. As a user of those places you have next to no responsibility, and thats why its a haven for trolls, pedophiles and all kinds of wackos.
I agree with you, Scott, that Murdoch is going to regret his purchase of MySpace–if not for potential advertising woes, for the watershed of law suits that are sure to come.
I was speaking to my cousin who teaches junior high just the other day. He had visited MySpace sites for some students, and he was shocked by the personal info disclosed on those pages. To me, it just demonstrates how slow–perhaps necessarily–we are at keeping up with technology when it comes to educating our kids.
The power of the internet when it come to information is awesome. Every-day people are going to have to start adopting the strategies that celebrities use to create their public persona while trying as hard as they can to guard any shred of privacy. And it’s not just social network spaces like MySpace. Most of us Google just about everyone we meet. Curiosity is a strong human trait.
While sites like MySpace bring to the fore some of the ugliest sides of people, it has also helped promote what we bloggers care about a lot–self-publishing in all forms of media. I have succeeded in exposing my music to hundreds of people worldwide with MySpace. And for that I’m thankful. I guess I’ll have to enjoy it while it lasts.
Ehhh … about a decade ago, I recall The Horrors Of AOL. There were perverts in the chat rooms … just look at this list of depraved topics … OH MY GOD SOMETHING MUST BE DONE!!!
But, in the end, AOL did fine.
I think we’re seeing deja-vue all over again.
Kevin, thanks for the name-calling, that’s always a constructive way to disagree.
As for Danah’s blog, I suppose she’s not a “hack” because she’s a PhD student who happens to share your view. Here’s what she has to say:
Despite this being a swiftly moving phenomenon with no reliable quantification, Danah seems to have all the “statistics” locked down.
The point of my post was not to make parents afraid, but to make investors in News Corps afraid.
I’m sure that MySpace is being used as a scapegoat in many instances, and that there is there’s a lot of fear of the unknown at work here.
But the “It’s OK” approach at the extreme is no more constructive than the “Oh my god let’s panic” approach.
Also, are you suggesting that local media outlets are skewing their coverage of MySpace for advertising purposes? (You’re comment was hard to scan, so I’m not sure I understand.) Perhaps you’d like to put forth your “academic study” of this type of yellow journalism — or was that just a “hack’s” accusation?
MySpace may push the envelope now, being the most famous place for people to throw away their privacy, but I wonder if the rest of the Internet isn’t far behind and MySpace won’t be so unique in a few years.
MySpace may be dangerous however it is not more dangerous to ones health than cigarettes, automobiles or Viagra (solely or in any combination). So MySpace has got that going for it - which is nice.
Scott, you remind me of the parents in the mid-60s who fretted about the morality of that crazy new trend called “rock and roll.” I have a daughter who lives on MySpace and she and her friends post and write what to me sound like crazy, scary nonsense, but it’s just jive. But they all “get” each other and all of these kids are stellar students, athletes, musicians and people.
I’m pretty familiar with MySpace now and while a lot of what gets posted is weird, it’s only weird because you’re not in that demographic.
Advertisers are so afraid of MySpace that ad revenues for that community are increasing at 20% per month.
Cynthia, first, there’s weird and then there’s pornographic. But I’m not passing judgment on that. And I’m not passing judgment on the “weird” stuff that these essentially good kids pass among themselves.
My concern as a parent is not about what the teenagers are doing among themselves, but about what predatory adults are doing in that space. Because it’s not really your child’s space. It’s a public space. Whatever children do on MySpace they might as well be doing in the middle of the street.
But again, that wasn’t my point. It’s about the business, and as we know with all things Internet, just because the ad revenue is going up fast, doesn’t mean it can’t come down fast.
Your experience on Myspace is very different than teenagers because your social circle is very different. In fact you may not even know people on Myspace. However this is a very different experience than the way teenagers experience it. All of their friends are on there, people they go to school with, people they hang out with, neighorhood friends, etc. It is a social space, not that different to IM or email. In fact you can even change your setting so only people on your friends list can contact you. In my experience with Myspace, I have found it is not a place where one meets new people but where you connect with people you already know. It is something I use almost daily as a resource to promote DJ events and to stay in touch with friends. The child who is going to meet a stranger online, is the same child that will get in the car with them when approached with offers of candy. There is no difference. Teach your kids not to be gullible and only talk to people they know, in ANY medium.
Quelle Dell? Accounting for Click Fraud in PPC Advertising ROI Stanford Journalism Fellowship: Citizen Journalists Welcome to Apply Stanford Journalism Fellowship: Citizen Journalists Welcome to ApplyMySpace Is a Ticking Time Bomb Stanford Journalism Fellowship: Citizen Journalists Welcome CU Student Paper Invites Bloggers NYT Stock Pages: Buh-Bye! Please Help with Citizen Media Survey There goes the neighborhood links for 2006-03-16
[...] Link: Publishing 2.0: MySpace Is a Ticking Time Bomb. [...]
and reacquaint, those older analyze it, then beyond that people don’t ‘get it’ and criticize and predict how it will be the end all to any real social interaction.” In keeping with Matt’s market segmentation, Scott Karp better be a Boomer, or he isold before his time:
Scott, MySpace is words and pictures on a screen. It is not a neighborhood, it is not a district, it is not a physical place. Those are just metaphors. This puts a very strict limit on how dangerous it can in truth be. Yes, sex predator stories sell magazines, but that’s fear-mongering.
Again, we’ve *been* through this, every time, it’s the same story.
[...] Scott Karp lined up beside the alarmist recently with his post about the site MySpace. [...]
[...] Scott Karp argued, as he did on his site, that MySpace would suffer financially because of the craziness going on on it’s site. [...]
[...] Is MySpace bad? There are lots of things I just don’t get - celebrity magazines, LiveJournal, the popularity of James Blunt, people who think Jack Russells are cool dogs - and top of the list is probably MySpace. I know it’s a social phenomenon, huge visitor numbers and all that, but every time I venture into it I have the same thought: “this sucks!”Publishing 2.0 reckons that MySpace is a ticking time bomb. Scott Karp writes:MySpace is a DEEPLY DISTURBING place. It’s so disturbing that I’m convinced that the vast majority of the Web 2.0 fan club who gush over MySpace has NEVER actually spent any time on MySpace….But as [a] Web 2.0 watcher, I have a strong view from a business perspective, which leads me to this prediction: Rupert Murdoch will come to regret the purchase of MySpace.Why? Because the reality is that MySpace can’t be controlled, and that’s a liability. [...]
might want to take a look at two recent posts that focus on very different aspects of the online social networking service. Scott Karp, not one to shy away from controversy, calls MySpace “a ticking time bomb.†Scott’spost
First, I seriously doubt that’s Tom Glocer’s real profile. Using it as a point of reference to highlight personal disclosure issues is a bit adroit; the issue with that specific profile is that, like so many others instances, profiles can be faked and publicity raised for a page simply because it pretends to be that of or by a famous person. In the Web 2.0 world, remember, it’s about popularity, and very often, not veracity.
Second, as Seth Finkelstein points out, the concerns over the past decade of the AOL profiles / chat-rooms hasn’t gone away, it’s just diminished due to the higher-profile and more contemporary reporting of incidents at MySpace. But MySpace does need to conform to certain child-protection and privacy standards. On AOL (at least now), parents can set limits for their children’s online activities and review what they were doing; this isn’t as easily accomplished when it comes to MySpace.
Finally, Rupert Murdoch may not make money selling advertising on MySpace, but if he mines the data carefully, he could learn a lot about consumer behavior in a very raw form. Watching how trends develop and who trend setters are, as well as influencers, could be even more valuable to his businesses than just advertising revenue. It may not be a wholly accurate reflection of what goes on in the rest of the world (online and off), but at least for a wildly popular online destination, it could make his advertising selling a lot smarter.
MySpace phenomenon†might want to take a look at two recent posts that focus on very different aspects of the online social networking service. Scott Karp, not one to shy away from controversy, calls MySpace “a ticking time bomb.†Scott’s post looks at MySpace from a parent’s point of view and also from a business and advertising perspective. It’s worth a read, as is the discussion (in which he participates) in the comment section that follows it.Try doing a Google News search for
reeling back in horror
MySpace is a ticking time bomb!
[...] Is MySpace bad? Saturday, March 18, 2006 There are lots of things I just don’t get - celebrity magazines, LiveJournal, the popularity of James Blunt, people who think Jack Russells are cool dogs - and top of the list is probably MySpace. I know it’s a social phenomenon, huge visitor numbers and all that, but every time I venture into it I have the same thought: “this sucks!”Publishing 2.0 reckons that MySpace is a ticking time bomb. Scott Karp writes:MySpace is a DEEPLY DISTURBING place. It’s so disturbing that I’m convinced that the vast majority of the Web 2.0 fan club who gush over MySpace has NEVER actually spent any time on MySpace….But as [a] Web 2.0 watcher, I have a strong view from a business perspective, which leads me to this prediction: Rupert Murdoch will come to regret the purchase of MySpace.Why? Because the reality is that MySpace can’t be controlled, and that’s a liability. [...]
[...] Last few days, for some odd reason the blogs have become obsessed with MySpace. Some are bringing up issues, which GigaOM readers had hotly debated earlier. Being a perpetual bear, I look for what could go wrong. A lot, but this negativity doesn’t really amount to anything! Neither do the competitors. Just look at the page views - This Alexa graph for MySpace should be enough for all to see - No Friendster, this MySpace. [...]
that social networks are simply facilitators of discovery of peer produced content, it’s really as simple as that. But increasingly fears of unmoderated social networks (i.e. peer produced content) are emerging. In his recent post flamoyantly named MySpace Is a Ticking Timebomb, Scott Karp rants about how scary it is, how advertisers will never use it because of its racy content and how ultimately acquiring MySpace will be Murdoch’s big mistake. Karp is not the only one shaking in his boots. Recently Business Week published a
In Boomtown, but Still Stuck on a Bubble - New York Times Who will buy the San Jose Mercury News? Think the Internet will replace TV ? Think again - Blog Maverick - http://www.blogmaverick.com _ Mark Cuban on why Internet TV won’t happen anytime soon. Publishing 2.0 » MySpace Is a Ticking Time Bomb Scott Karp is scared of MySpace. Rough Type: Nicholas Carr’s Blog: Pretty vacant Nick Carr thinks MySpace is like “an enervated pantomime.” Nike, Google Kick Off Social-Networking Site Joga.com, a social network created by shoe marketers for
I do not believe that MySpace is “bad†nor “evil†destination.
I think the real issue is that MySpace is an open community serving anyone and everyone who wants to participate. Good folks and not so good.
And now, since soical networking has become a household name, children and young adults many of whom have limited experience (can’t tell fact from fiction) engaging with others online are connecting and getting into dialog with predators or those individuals that are capable of taking advantage of a relatively naive user / member audience.
Also because anyone can search member profiles – MySpace has become a veritable hunting ground for those that are both clever and dangerous in nature.
If you removed this naïve audience (ie - kids or younger users), and limit search capibilities then perhaps that might minimize some of the issues and risks surrounding this site.
Just a thought.
in niche communities that have been underserved by traditional media, it looks like a lifeline. To the editors of existing newspapers and news networks, it looks more like an angry mob with pitchforks. You can see the disparate reactions here and here, in differing views on MySpace. Nick Carr sees a mostly boring bunch of all too typical poseurs; Scott Karp sees a cesspool of virtual filth that ought to be moderated. I can’t say I’ve looked at MySpace specifically, but - based on the rest of the
Scott, leave the kids alone let them express themselves as they want. You aren’t the target audience…Let me remind you of what K. Gibran said:
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts.
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
Tom, that’s all very lyrical, and as a parent I can appreciate the sentiment, but this not just a matter of self-expression. Until recently teenage self-expression did not take place in a “super public” space, to use Danah Boyd’s phrase, and it didn’t have a permanent digital record. We’re only beginning to fathom the long-term consequences. How can you make a judgment to trust what your kids are doing if the risks are still unknown?
[...] Here is Scott Karp: Ticking time bomb. [...]
[...] Here is Scott Karp: Ticking time bomb. [...]
[...] Danah Boyd has written what must be the most coherent and well-reasoned article on MySpace to date. She compares MySpace to Friendster, explaining why the latter failed so miserably. With leading minds on both sides trying to understand the MySpace phenomenon, it’s an absolute must-read. On the MySpace vs Friendster question, it seems that while Friendster attempted to take control and limit creativity at every turn, MySpace allowed the community to develop organically, along with the web design abominations that offend so many outsiders. Some key extracts: Portability of identity doesn’t matter. Easy-to-use interfaces don’t matter. Visual coherence doesn’t matter. Simple navigation doesn’t matter. Bugs don’t matter. Fancy new technologies don’t matter. Simple personalization doesn’t matter…Before you scream “but it does to me!” let me acknowledge that you’re right. It does matter to you. The question is whether it matters to the masses. And it doesn’t. Especially for teens. Friendster killed off anyone who didn’t conform to their standards, most notably Fakesters and those with more creative non-photorealistic profiles. When MySpace users didn’t conform, they were supported and recognized for their contributions to evolving the system. (Exceptions made for pornography, spammers, people using hate speech.) When Friendster was faltering because it was “uncool,” Friendster users did not stick up for the site. When MySpace began to falter over the predator crisis, many users got outraged at those attacking the system. They wrote supportive notes to Tom, made YouTube videos, wrote messages on their MySpaces. They didn’t want outsiders telling them they couldn’t have their space. [...]
[...] A few articles recently about the dangers of posting too much personal information online, when a future employer can potentially find it. Yahoo has some horror stories, including people fired for criticising their employers, or posting about drug use. Michael Parekh has similar comments about MySpace users. Scott Karp says that MySpace is a deeply disturbing place, and asks why everyone assumes that sharing is such a good thing, anyway? Web 2.0 only works if we’re willing to cede any grasp on privacy by sharing everything we do online  even everything we think, through tagging, commenting, voting, etc. [...]
[...] What happens if Scott Karp and the MySpace moralists win…(via danah.org) …If MySpace falters in the next 1-2 years, it will be because of this moral panic. Before all of you competitors get motivated to exacerbate the moral panic, think again. If the moral panic succeeds: [...]
[...] Nick Carr did a thought-provoking psychoanlysis of my original MySpace post (the one that caused such a dust storm). He argues that I shouldn’t have shied away for the morality of the issue. What’s most fascinating about Karp’s post, though, is not his reaction to MySpace but his reaction to his reaction to MySpace. Having offered a moral critique - a visceral one - he suddenly goes all wobbly. Moral critiques are so uncool. They’re the surest way to lose your web cred. [...]
Myspace is just an evil spawn. Anything involving Rupert Murdoch I highly recommend to be aware of. I found this site called Community X which seems to be taking the anti-corporate approach and taken off. When you have all these people think they are anti-establishment why are they still there. Plus also rocks music is always about the protesting against the “Man”. Well why are they on a site controlled by “The Man”
Now on the subject about kids, so far no kids on this site, you have to be at least 18 years old. I’ve heard the process to verify each and every account is a long process but so far have produce a good quality of folks on the site. Check it out!!
http://www.communityx.net
[...] Tila Tequila can be your friend, if you don’t mind to share Having a porn star slash electro pop singer as a friend sounds too good to be true? Well, if you don’t mind sharing, it’s within reach. Just add Tila Tequila as your friend on MySpace.com.Like 904,432 others did, making this selfdescribed no-girl-next-door-but-bitch-down-the-street rise to celebrity status.MySpace is a worldwide networking site. Counting 63 million profiles, mostly with massive amounts of pictures, colours and loud music. And described by critics as a ticking time bomb, because it has too much sexual content. Quite exaggerating ofcourse, although “sex†and “bomb†may come to mind watching Tila Tequila’s page.Becoming a MySpace phenomenon is far from easy, Tila stated in a MSNBC interview last week. She has to work 24/7 on her MySpace page. No wonder Tila is single (giving her 904,432 friends false hopes, I guess). Always blogging, posting pictures and answering messages.But that’s exactly why Tila is popular (apart from being extremely hot ofcourse). Adding one of the big time pop stars on MySpace as a friend, actually means you’re friends with a PR stuff posting record company. It sucks. Having the real Tila as a friend might be freaking cool.Tila Tequila [MySpace.com]The Most Popular Girl On MySpace [Dumpalink]Social Networking Sites New Celebrity Training Ground [Adrants]MySpace Is A Ticking Time Bomb [Publishing 2.0] [...]
[...] Speaking of which, I must say that I saw less of the usual porn and quasi-porn — it appears that MySpace is getting the message: But if some of the criticism is overblown, Chernin has no choice but to take it seriously. Only if MySpace is seen as an advertiser-friendly site will News Corp. be able to realize its potential. [THAT SOUNDS AWFULLY FAMILIAR] The very tricky challenge for the media giant is to somehow manage MySpace, without taming its cool factor. [...]
[...] A few weeks ago, I got hung out to dry for suggesting that “questionable” content residing on MySpace along with underage users would potentially harm News Corp’s business interests when advertisers refused to assume the risk. Today, we learn that MySpace agreed me (i.e. I TOLD YOU SO), and suddenly it’s fashionable to talk about “questionable” content without being accused of fascism and anti-first amendment prograndizing. From Financial Times: MySpace.com, the fast-growing community website hugely popular with American teens, has removed 200,000 “objectionable†profiles from its site as it steps up efforts to calm fears about the safety of the network for young users. [...]
[...] I’ll resist the temptation to say I told you so about big brand advertisers not wanting to take the risk of appearing next to questionable content on MySpace, other Web 2.0 sites, and ad networks (although I did tell you). Articles on this phenomenon are appearing more frequently, the latest from the Wall Street Journal: Most ad networks say they review the sites in their network regularly to check for inappropriate content. But David Herpers, chief marketing officer for Amerisave Mortgage Corp. says he bought an ad that appeared on MySpace from a network that promised to run them on “loans and money and finance” sites. Yet in the past month, Amerisave learned that its ad was adjacent to a photo of the male anatomy on a page on MySpace. “It’s really alarming….I had no idea that this could conceivably happen,” Mr. Herpers says. [...]
Internet businesses represents a tiny fraction of the News media empire.
The price they paid is a drop in the ocean compared to the advertising potential of myspace. Even if it turns out to be a bad purchase, it won’t affect earnings or their share price.
So whats the point of your post?
[...] “Just looks bad.” Indeed. [...]
I like your article, it is completely true. People who say “there is nothing wrong with myspace” obvously have tunnel vision. Mist kids who get arrested for murder have their parent outside of the courthouse saying how “it couldnt be him, he is such a great kid”. Removing these social barriers can have consequences. I have watched social computer scenes evolve from BBS’s all the way to myspace, so I have a first hand look at social computing evolution. and it is disturbing.
on a different note, I would like to see how many relationships are destroyed from myspace. I would have no way to guess what this tally would be but I am sure there are some numbers.
Your “I TOLD YOU SO” line will be VERY famous soon.
[...] continue to circle…tick, tick, tick Scott Karp – May 4th, 2006 | Email | Print | Link Article Tags:MySpace [...]
[...] Scott Karp – May 22nd, 2006 | Email | Print | Link Article Tags:MySpace [...]
[...] 1. When a fad becomes overhyped, teens will eventually retreat 2. Most teens know that MySpace isn’t entirely safe [...]
[...] Scott Karp: MySpace is a Ticking Bomb [...]
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[...] MySpace acts to calm teen safety fears, MySpace Is a Ticking Time Bomb, Sex, Crimes, and MySpace, Scenes From the MySpace Backlash, MySpace Isn’t for Advertisers, It’s for Sex, Reasons to Hate MySpace, Myspace Dangers: How Kids Could Be Targeted [...]
[...] Remember MySpace the ticking time bomb? Well, it’s starting to tick faster — now they’re being sued for failing to protect children (thanks to Jeff for the tip): A 14-year-old Travis County girl who said she was sexually assaulted by a Buda man she met on MySpace.com sued the popular social networking site Monday for $30 million, claiming that it fails to protect minors from adult sexual predators. [...]
I have picture comments and I can’t even read them! Why would anybody ever think they could charge for such shitty service
so to speak, and share blog posts and photos and music, or where they can go and watch video clips of people trying stupid bicycle tricks or kittens trying to get out of Kleenex boxes or whatever. But as my friend Scott Karp of Publishing 2.0 is fond of pointing out, there is a dark side to these kinds of networks. A couple of stories I came across recently reminded me of that. One was actually fairly comical: a university student posted a picture of a teacher’
[...] Social networking and social media — sites such as MySpace.com and YouTube.com — are often written about as though they are universally a good thing. And there’s no question that it’s great to have places where kids can socialize online, so to speak, and share blog posts and photos and music, or where they can go and watch video clips of people trying stupid bicycle tricks or kittens trying to get out of Kleenex boxes or whatever. But as my friend Scott Karp of Publishing 2.0 is fond of pointing out, there is a dark side to these kinds of networks. [...]
Scott wrote “..teenage self-expression did not take place in a “super public†space, to use Danah Boyd’s phrase, and it didn’t have a permanent digital record. We’re only beginning to fathom the long-term consequences….”
As a father, I sympathize with this concern………
I’ve posted an “open letter to parents of the Myspace generation” and I’ve also created a social networking ubber platform called Minggl to allow minors to keep their MySpace and Facebook disclosures within a private (password protected) context.
Yes I too am concerned. I originally liked the concept of Myspace as a musician. Its design in music sharing for the new and upcoming artist is outstanding but the lack of screening those that want to abuse the system is also apparent. I’m not sure what the answer would be but as a musician, I am also concerned about the direction of myspace.
We disagree with this because myspace a site for friends and it has a great musician concept.