MySpace vs. Facebook: the Epic Battle

I'll be the first to admit it. We millennials love our online social networks. I've had a Facebook profile since my junior year of college when it first hit the mainstream college community. MySpace took a little longer for me to get down, but once I snatched some free background codes and learned how to maneuver through the back end, I was good-to-go.

The online networking phenomenon has become infused in our culture. Music, movies and television are being advertised on MySpace. Even Fortune 500 companies are cashing in by placing ads on Facebook. It definitely says something unique about our culture, but what exactly does it say about us? Danah Boyd, a PhD student at Cal Berkeley summed things up with a pretty bold generalization:

According to Boyd, Facebook users "are in honor classes, looking forward to prom and live in a world dictated by after school activities.?? MySpace "has most of the kids who are socially ostracized at school because they are geeks, freaks or queers.??¹

I never thought two websites with millions of collective users could be assessed so effortlessly. But maybe this straightforward gal is on to something…to an extent.

Regressing for a moment, it took me quite awhile to get a MySpace profile. Why you ask? Because I was too busy with schoolwork and excessive partying to sit down and solve all it's back end riddles. "What" I said. "I have to learn HTML to make my profile as cool as everyone else's? Forget it!?? So it wasn't until the summer after my senior year, while taking my last two classes that I sat down and carved my legacy in the MySpace Empire.

I was somewhat "socially ostracized?? at this point. Most of my friends had graduated, the festivities had died down and a first-grader could've handled my homework. Did Boyd get something right? Maybe to an extent, but I'm not a "geek, freak or queer.?? I just didn't have the time to be a "MySpacer?? until boredom led me astray. Up until then, it was just too damn hard to figure out.

And it still is – at least for a former frat guy with limited computer literacy. The site just isn't user friendly. It's a complex world where only those with a techie background and/or lots of free time can prevail. Which is the real reason Facebook is the choice of a dynamic generation.

Today, as I hustle through the day-to-day grind of big business, I don't have time to deal with avoidable complexities, but Facebook makes things so easy. Facebook is my social secretary (sorry…administrative assistant), it tells me who is doing what without any angst.

"Oh look, Healy is over in the wine country sipping on cabernet. Hey! There's a picture of my friend Eric floating around in the Dead Sea." Get the idea? If you want to know what your cronies are up to, it tells you, plain and simple.

So what do your online networks say about you? Unless you're under 18, I hope it's not that you're "looking forward to the prom,?? but I doubt it says as much about your persona as Boyd suggests.

In my opinion, it's going to change with age, but I think some sort of MySpace/Facebook will always be around. Imagine how many of our parents would've stayed close with lost friends if they could see what each other were doing throughout their lives. This Friday, I'm meeting up with a friend I haven't seen since the seventh grade, we reconnected on MySpace. I can't wait to see who I can track down 20 years from now.

¹ boyd, danah. 2007. "Viewing American class divisions through Facebook and MySpace ." Apophenia Blog Essay. June 24 . http://www.danah.org/papers/essays/ClassDivisions.html

Forget About Your Shortcomings, Improve Your Strengths

The Strengths Finder 2.0 book and online test by Tom Rath is a must buy for anyone just starting out in their careers. The short introduction stresses focusing on your strengths and excelling in those areas rather than focusing on shortcomings and trying to hard to achieve things that don't come naturally to you.

The author discusses the movie, Rudy. Rudy overcomes insurmountable odds of being too small, too slow and not smart enough to get into and later play football for Notre Dame. He overcomes the odds by practicing religiously and never giving up. Rudy is the typical American Hero, he overcame his shortcomings.

Tom Rath then puts this into perspective. He says, "After all the practice and sweat, blood and tears, Rudy made one tackle on one play in his entire career."

It's an achievement no doubt, but why not put all of that effort into something you have a natural ability for. Why do we put so much stock into celebrating someone who has overcome an obstacle rather than praising people who recognize their talents and excel at something that aligns with these talents?

The most important reason to buy this book is for the accompanying online questionnaire. It takes about 30 minutes to complete. When finished, you receive a Strengths Finder guide with your 5 strengths along with detailed descriptions, examples of others with the same strengths and action plans.

I highly recommend getting the book and taking the course. If you are like me, you tend to focus on areas of weakness and don't try to improve on your strengths. Or worse, you don't even know your strengths. Just in case anyone cares, my top 5 strengths in order are:

1. Futuristic
2. Analytical
3. Arranger
4. Restorative
5. Significance

When reading the descriptions, these strengths seem right on point. Sure this may be feeding into the whole self esteem "crisis" that our generation apparently faces, but everyone needs to know what they are naturally good at if they want to pick that perfect career. Phone cards