Task #13 & #14 - The great Facebook vs MySpace debate!

I know according to the guidelines set down that these are two separate tasks; however, the more I have read, the more I have looked at them both, the more I have discussed the pros and cons with others, the more I realise that the ongoing social networking battle for users sees Facebook and MySpace does and will (most like given recent trends) always see these to sites interconnected.  After all, we like nothing better than to compare don't we!?!  Myer versus David Jones, Coles versus Woolies, Coke versus Pepsi, paper versus plastic, public versus private, the red shoes or the blue...or both!?!  We are all driven by the need to get the best value for our money so why shouldn't the battle for our time be any different!

Before I continue I think it only right that I confess that I am not, nor do I have any immediate intention of becoming and MySpace or Facebook user.  If I have learnt anything on this Web 2.0 journey it is that I am very easily distracted - MySpace and/or Facebook would clearly only be another vehicle by which I could see myself whiling away the hours and continuing to avoid my mounting piles of marking.

Back to the task at hand!

Over the last two weeks, while I have contemplating this task, I have been amazed with just how often these two organisation find themselves in the news, both good and bad. 

Most recently, the fact that Facebook's user numbers have surpassed 500 million making it the third largest nation in the world, was a particular eye opener for me.  I had no idea that so many people where interacting socially online through this kind of medium.  Don't get me wrong, I knew it was popular but I didn't know 1 in 13 of us worldwide had a Facebook account, 10,059,980 of which of us are Australians (nearly half our population) and that 6.6 million of us check our account DAILY! 

So what surprised, and secretly alarmed me, was the sheer size of this thing.  I investigated further and found a site called socialbakers.com who look at the statistics associated with Facebook use.  If, like me, you prefer colour graphs to pages of statistics, this site is well worth a look.  Colourful graphs aside, this still wasn't helping me with what makes a person choose on site over another.  So the investigation continued.

Next I came across a website that claimed to explain the difference between Facebook, MySpace...and Twitter!  From here I learnt that:

• Facebook conversation are like dinner conversations, connecting people who already know one another and interacting accordingly.
• Twitter conversation are like cocktail party conversations, enabling you to connect with people you find interesting but don't necessarily know.
• MySpace conversations are like High School Cafeteria conversations, connecting people with similar tastes with whom you may nor may not have a real-worth relationship (aesthetic similarities)

For those of you who may have checked out the link, you will see it is to a Facebook based page.  In the interest of presenting a balanced blog entry, I looked further to see if I could find a MySpace supporter who could explain the difference from their point of view - thanks to Bonnie's Blog I found the following:

• Facebook is an elaborate chat room.
• MySpace is an elaborate entertainment centre.

Clear as mud!?!  Then I stumbled across this and it became clearer why the popularity of Facebook has taken off in recent years. In my opinion, it all seems to comes down to what is easiest to use with the technology that is now available.

Perhaps the most eye-opening of my findings, was as a result of discussions held with my current class and a number of former students who are now in Year 11. 

Regardless of what I might think about social networking sites, the truth is that they have quickly become an integral part of the life of the adolescent.  Currently I am teaching the sixth grade and when polling my students of their use of social networking sites I was surprised to learn that of a class of 26, 18 of my students have Facebook pages, even though that are between the ages of 10-12.  My discussions with some of my former students were even more of an awakening.  In their words Facebook has replaced the mobile phone as their primary source of communication with their peers.  One when even so far as to state that not to be on Facebook makes you an social outcast as all social get-togethers, both formal and informal, are organised through Facebook.  No Facebook = No Social Life! 

Three years ago I held an administrative role that saw my duties include the behaviour management and disciplining of Year 7 and 8 students.  At that time, MSN, email and mobile phone messaging were the greatest technology issues that I was forced to deal with, how quickly times change!  So where does that leave my initial disclaimer...clearly the power of this thing cannot be easily dismissed.

As educators this is a new world,

ignore its implications at your peril!