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Kate
Member
5931 Posts |
 Posted - 02 Jul 2012 : 8:15:49 PM
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In response to Analog_Music,
(picking the conversation up from here: http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=25774&whichpage=64)
quote:
Originally posted by Analog_Music
I finished my rant, admittedly, but anything you want to say is cool.
Pfft, I'm just going to work today.
Of course it's pride week, so it's going to get hella ghey 'round myaw. Always entertaining. I need a water pistol.
Thanks for the invitation. I'll think I'll take you up on it. 
Pride isn't necessary in this country. Assimilation is complete.
quote:
Originally posted by Analog_Music
This year's fireworks:
The event's sponsors, Nissan, will also project the 2013 Altima's design features with a holographic projection in a "diffusion of light and water"--they'll be the first company to use this 3D technology in Canada, if you're into that stuff.
Canada Day is brought to you from Nissan now, I guess.
Sponsored by....
Makes it lose it's shine, doesn't it? I didn't watch that.
But, you've got my fascinated, now. I have a Facebook, but I'm not on it much. My kids are, though. It's their generation. So, I did some creeping and now I see exactly what you mean.
Some of those profiles are an interesting cultural statement on 'the times'. It's about being seen looking good in different locations. Exotic missing something?
Some of the pics are amazing, though. I have one young relative who has traveled half the globe. His photo album is something else! He also looks amazing and so does his girlfriend.
hmmm
I wrote something kind of related to this, a couple days ago, in response to someone. Here's an abbreviated excerpt of what I wrote:
(the jumping off point was my dissatisfaction with the EIDB and some of my feelings about why)
"Good way to put. Flattened combined with an exaggeration. It's kind of bizarre in it's own way. Another thing, though and here I go with my need to improve again, and see what's not working, there are ways to make it less so. It's in the design. I brought up MySpace recently, while thinking about a friend of mine. That was an interesting phenomanon. I think years from now, (probably not many...actually probably happening now), it will be studied as a specimen of the first huge internet social network phenom and how it impacted and how it's so different from Facebook, and yet again different from other networking sites like Pinterest and niche discussion boards, which exist for pretty much any hobbie, subject matter, special interest, fascination, fetish there is out there.
Taking that as a jumping off point, or point of reference and comparison, I look at the EIDB web community and how much of it is influenced by it's design. Degign is basically a blueprint, like for a house, or any other building we exist and live or work in. And then I think about the whole function and form thing. Space defines how we live, how we interact, how we feel, how we live. Many people don't realise this. Our space does shape us. Maybe not at an elemental level (although in childhood it does), but later in a behavioural and reactive level. It's subconscious for a lot of folk. I think this comes from my over-riding sp first. Maybe not. It's not the point.
What I see is a stifled and stale atmosphere. It's old and bulky and leaves too much out. By not opening up and expanding to include the full range of the participants, it digs a hole. I'm not sure how to even explain this. Entrenched in outmoded dogma is one way to put it, and even that doesn't get at it.
MySpace was a fully no holds barred 'show yourself' place. People could design their profiles with outmost freedom to present themselves in such an unlimited way. It was amazing in that respect. I actually taught myself html language after starting to use it. By doing that, I made my page with music, photos, background design, and later my blog and album pages mine. They were a complete full expression of me. It was like, well a full colour interactive, propaganda, constant streaming show of what I am. Who needs a dull resume when you have that?
MySpace was brilliant innovation. In comparison, Facebook is a poor wanna be cousin to innovation. What it is, to me at least, a contrived, and aborted, voyeauristic tableteur. There is nothing fun in it. To me, it feels wanting. Interestingly enough, I got both accounts because of my daughters, as a way to stay in touch.
I screen captured a few of the earlier MySpace pages for posterity as where they were at. They were brilliant -- amazing portfolio represantions of their personalities and times of their lives at the time. No photo album could do that justice. Facebook could never do that, either.
And on down the line now to the EIDB. What do we have here? An abyss of redundancy and vacancy. A beige donut with more holes than that golf course in the Caddyshack video. Why? Because of the design."
Strange new winds are blowing.
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Analog_Music
Member
Borneo
2370 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jul 2012 : 9:44:09 PM
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If this conversation goes anywhere, I think it could be interesting, but regardless, thanks for posting.
Off the top of my head:
Facebook is special in its mode of delivery. It's the attention seekers wet dream, in that if you post anything, it will pop up on a variety of people's screens, moreso if you are popular. Each thing you do can start a comment frenzy, and people can debate about any single picture/post. When Saintly was still around here, she kept mentioning "I wish I could Like that post." Facebook lets you Like stuff, and there's also the lack of the Dislike option, which is a bit creepy. Facebook knows it's in dangerous territory.
Someone actually went as far as to develop an application that tells you when someone "unfriends" you, because facebook will not inform you of this directly. The application was hugely successful.
Another aspect is that Facebook has (finally) been properly monetized, and this gives them way way more clout. Both Facebook and Youtube had an exceptionally hard time monetizing their sites, as it was all about the gradual acceptance of advertising revenue.
When youtube started putting up ads, people got ANGRY. They went away, until youtube started putting up smaller ads. People got angry. They did it three more times, until everyone let it slide. Now it's commonplace.
There are a slew of homegrown youtube channels, which are the youtuber's primary source of income. You monetize your channel by allowing ads to appear over your video, and you can make $1-3 per 1000 views. Might be less than that, I forget.
Facebook also introduced a new advertising tab on its interface, although I haven't really checked it out yet.
Furthermore, the fashion bloggers I was mentioning in the other thread are also pulling in ad money. Popular youtubers, bloggers, facebookers, actually get approached by major corporations, who will send them things to wear. If you're looking at the facebook of a pretty girl who posts often, you might be looking at an ad stream without realizing it.
That wasn't quite what I was rambling about before, but it's definitely connected. Follows through on the point I made about "something changing with advent of corporate America."
To an extent, in my generation, corporate America fell apart. We know we cannot expect regular office jobs, and that we have to advertise ourselves as multi-disciplinary self-starters, whatever that means. What better example to follow than corporations? People become their own corporations, their own walking businesses, in some instances, a mode of perception that quite possibly never shuts off.
(ie: you used to watch a Coke commercial, now you live inside of one, and get paid according to how many people are watching you do it) |
Edited by - Analog_Music on 02 Jul 2012 9:50:15 PM |
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Analog_Music
Member
Borneo
2370 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jul 2012 : 10:02:21 PM
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And never underestimate how much LGBT people like to just go outside and be blatantly flamboyant. It's funny. Grating, but funny.
I always think, "yes, we accept you. Shut up." But I think there were still some homosexuality related suicides this year. Highschool bullying stuff. |
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Kate
Member
5931 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jul 2012 : 10:44:03 PM
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I see all of this as related to what Abi's posting in her 'Beyond Civilazation' thread.
There's a great change in the way we live going on. George Orwell's 1984 comes to mind.
With the technological advance that we can record everything we do and watch and be watched, we are moving into another way of living and communicating. Before, we had to send things in slow mo and usually in static text and printed word or a photograph that would eventually fade.
With split second sharing on networks, everyone knows what you want them to know. It becomes a life of image of what you are living through. Do we know ahead of time what that entails? I'd say, not.
It's interesting you bring in advertising. Sharing information is a way to make yourself vulnerable. Anytime you put yourself out there in the network, you give something away of yourself. In the world people want to use that. So, the network allows for that infiltration and usage. The advertising is a natural spin-off.
It's the juxtaposition of private vs. public. You put something out in the public, you take your chance. Now, you don't own it anymore. You have relinquished control of what happens to what you shared. There is no going back.
There's some rule of law in this. I can't remember it's name from my law studies. But, once you bring something up in court, it's fair game. It's the same principal that's happening with all this sharing. You give up control.
What does that mean?
Interesting things, I think. It stirs fear in people. Because to belong to what's happening you have to do this. But, it's a tightrope in a way.
How much do you want be owned, bought and sold? You know you're doing that by merely participating.
It's about power, control and image and who you are and what anyone can do with it.
So, maybe in the future, we will see everyone and there won't be a fear of that.
Privacy holds dear what we don't want people to know. Our shame at the heart of it all.
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lovemyth
Member
USA
2934 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jul 2012 : 12:30:13 AM
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kate, you made a very intriguing and choerant opine on the myspace vs facebook.
but here is the thing. myspace was much more personal- me me me. to a point it became tacky.
i miss having a blog. i miss designing my actual space. but in the end that is what people wanted- to stay connected to you but not inundated with you.
very few people could make a pleasing design with themselves- to express themselves ( i imagine you had probably fairly good facility with that but most people do not).
most people are crude. and it was at it's base a movement from homepage to myspace page. where as facebook is more definitely social.
in line with twitter in communication but with a little bit more flair.
i agree myspace gave to more openess in expression. but really- with most people do they really warrant expression?
that was the death of myspace IMO. that and the move towards it as a promotional media. it can't be both personal and deatachedly promotional
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"If you’re going through hell, keep going" |
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Kate
Member
5931 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jul 2012 : 01:17:34 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by lovemyth
kate, you made a very intriguing and choerant opine on the myspace vs facebook.
but here is the thing. myspace was much more personal- me me me. to a point it became tacky.
Oh, yeah. It was definitely tacky. Let's look at the negative stereotypes it spawned. The "MySpace girl", less so the guys. But, there was the 'the look', the 'scene' lol. The stereotype of it became a gross caricature of tackiness. It was also the advent of people photoshopping their own photos.
The stereotypical MySpace photo is one of super close, angled, bad colour editing. It's funny and ridiculous to look back at. That's one angle of it.
Another is that it also helped untold bands get known. It was the start of many unknown music artists by way of networking.
There was a lot of crap on there. But at first, it was wide open. It took a few years before it became controlled by advertising. It was inevitable with that many people in one place.
quote:
Originally posted by lovemyth
i miss having a blog. i miss designing my actual space. but in the end that is what people wanted- to stay connected to you but not inundated with you.
Well, that's what I found with MySpace. I only added people who I could see very much from what they showed that they ones I would want to connect to.
Facebook started as a network of alumni from universities and colleges. When I first got my account, I had to look for my old student number. I closed my original account a few years ago, after re-connecting with old schoolmates. It was a joke. What was the point? There was no confluence. We just happened to be in the same place at the same time. So what. Same old, same old. What the heck do I have to talk to them about? Nothing. Just like before.  The only reason to keep them there was, what? To look into each lives and compare. What the [blocked]? Bye. See ya.
That's how I saw Facebook.
quote:
Originally posted by lovemyth
very few people could make a pleasing design with themselves- to express themselves ( i imagine you had probably fairly good facility with that but most people do not).
most people are crude. and it was at it's base a movement from homepage to myspace page. where as facebook is more definitely social.
Well, you know. I'll take the whole gamut from amazing design to the most horrendous, you just want to pummel them godawful design to the sterile Facebook platform any day of the week. But, that's just me.
Facebook more social?
hmmm
I don't know. Maybe MySpace was more sexual. It was more social in the best sense to me. I got to know people on there and I met a few, made good friends with them, ending up going to concerts with them and sharing life stages with them. I still am very good friends with 3 people I met on there. All three of them are because we share some quality that brought us together.
You can't say that about Facebook.
quote:
Originally posted by lovemyth
in line with twitter in communication but with a little bit more flair.
i agree myspace gave to more openess in expression. but really- with most people do they really warrant expression?
that was the death of myspace IMO. that and the move towards it as a promotional media. it can't be both personal and deatachedly promotional
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"If you’re going through hell, keep going"
No, it couldn't. That was it's death.
The original concept was not detached.
There is something detached about Facebook.
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Edited by - Kate on 03 Jul 2012 01:20:03 AM |
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Lake
Member
6824 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jul 2012 : 01:52:28 AM
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| Friendster never gets any credit. |
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lovemyth
Member
USA
2934 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jul 2012 : 02:27:15 AM
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lol @ friendster.
honestly that passed so fast i never got to know it.
as for myspace. originally- i will say it opened things in a way- that you wouldn't get and never could get later.
at the beginning- really mostly only really interesting people were on.
but that's the beginning of most everything worth looking at.
i met really badass people early on- part because we were the only poeple out in a thing that was new. we just happened to be there. and they just happened to be cool.
whatevevs scenster whateve. they were at least into SOMETHING.
as time wore on it was flooded for me anyhow with every tom [blocked] and hairy [blocked].
i knew them in life- but were for the most part completely uninteresting. i hung out with them because they were there(and they are valuable in their own right i might add. as human beings but that is besides the point)they were first and foremost- dumb. they might have attractive emotional sides to them and all. but they liked [blocked] and perpetuated [blocked]. they killed me first with horrible GIFs and then horrble FWD: FWD:s.
it was a terrible flood of awfulness and mediocrity. yeah maybe the scene [blocked]es were conformist in their aesthetic. BUT AT LEAST THEY HAD AN AESTHETIC.
there was just terrible terrible that came down on me.
it was just bad. and it was just as bad as what i had to deal with them in real life. i don;t want to deal with their expressions of themselves because it is offensively stupid.
just pages and pages of blinking sparkling gifs and stupid sentiment.
i wanted to kill them all.
never mind when their simple [blocked]ing minds fell for every single incredibly old trick in the internet book. and then i had to feel simultaneously bad and angry at them.
i know alot of simple[blocked]folk.
so i liked Myspace. it was good for people who had anything to contribute. it was good for people who could actually express themselves.
but fact is most people cannot.
facebook strangles people who have something signifigant (for the most part- at least it's not easy) but at the same time allows you to have basic connection- in the terms of acquaintanceship and keeping up.
it has less of an opening for basic complete desire for disposal of a person. at the same it removes that basic opening for complete love.
though there is something i am picking up. in the absolute ability for expression. someone else could see it and find value. in Facebook not so much. it's a meeting a deeper level. if you do meet.it's kinda lame for that aspect.
is that what you are driving at?
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"If you’re going through hell, keep going" |
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Kate
Member
5931 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jul 2012 : 03:21:02 AM
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Before it became a phenomon to the point of attracting too much attention from the regular media, Nigerian spammers, pedos and then the advertisers; when it was an original cultural upstart - It had something. What that something is, is hard to describe. I don't want to say revoultionary, because that sounds a bit much. But it was along those lines.
When else before MySpace, did people on a grand scale, promote themselves as they did on MySpace? Never before in that way. I believe it was the first internet wide scale promotion platform. In that sense, you are going to get exactly what you see on the street, in a way. You will get all the things you described, lovemyth that you find so annoying. It was a mirror of the time and mirrors aren't replicas.
quote:
Originally posted by lovemyth
it's kinda lame for that aspect.
is that what you are driving at?
It's second and it's dead. When anything becomes redundant, then yeah, it's lame. There will be the next thing.
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Analog_Music
Member
Borneo
2370 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jul 2012 : 03:37:02 AM
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Geocities. But everybody wants to forget that one.
As it turns out, the company that bought it wanted to forget about it too, so it recently got killed off.
Thankfully, a team of rogue hackers downloaded the entirety of Geocities, and put it here: http://thepiratebay.se/torrent/5923737/
If you can stomach the 700gb download, you can go back into 90's internet bliss. |
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Kate
Member
5931 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jul 2012 : 03:45:43 AM
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geocities ha I remember that.
It seems like Apps are going to take over the social network area. It will streamline everything on your phone.
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ouxu905
Member
USA
677 Posts |
Posted - 03 Jul 2012 : 11:57:16 PM
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Xanga was a lot like myspace. God, I miss my Xanga friends, though I'm glad it's gone in a way, as I'd say some really stupid sh-t on there that I'd always end up deleting in the morning, but the connections felt deeper.
I use facebook to keep in touch with my baby brother, a sx6, but he doesn't seem to buy it. He's told me he doesn't know me to my face and I guess no amount of fb messaging could change that. He's also weird on the phone when I call him. It's almost like he senses I'm doing it out of obligation, when I'm not. I suppose I have to put in face time to earn his affections, which doesn't seem unreasonable but we don't live in the same state. Facebook isn't a substitute for relationships, it's complementary, I'm realizing and I can't use it to compensate for not being there as much as I want to out of convenience.
Also this vaguely relevant article is such bs: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/30/the-busy-trap/
4w5 sx/sp
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"It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious." --oscar wilde |
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Kate
Member
5931 Posts |
Posted - 04 Jul 2012 : 12:01:53 AM
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What's BS about it?
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Kate
Member
5931 Posts |
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It's In the Air
