Social Networking Sites: A Review of MySpace vs. Friendster

What are Social Networking Sites?

Social networking sites are online communities where people can come-together based on similar interests, hobbies, desires, goals, histories, etc. Social networking sites have seen a boom over the course of the last few years, to the point where there are now more than 200 online communities to choose from. People who have broadband Internet connections are able to establish a profile through the social networking site of their choosing, and use the high speeds to their advantage in terms of uploading and downloading various types of data ranging from photos and links to the profile’s content itself.

This review will give you the lowdown on two of the better known social networking sites: Friendster and MySpace.

The Friendster Online Community

With more than 16 million members, Friendster is the one service that is most commonly associated with the idea of online communities. People can log on to Friendster in order to find new friends in their community, to keep in touch with old friends, to foster business relationships, or to find the man or woman of your dreams.

Friendster is a free online community service through which you establish a member profile that serves as your homepage within the social networking site. The profile includes basic information such as:

• Name
• Photographs
• Age
• Sex
• Location
• Occupation

Detailed profile information includes:

• A blurb about you
• A blurb about what you’re looking to get out of Friendster
• A ‘favorites’ section describing favorite books, movies, music, television shows, etc.
• Hobbies and Interests
• Your friends network
• Any affiliations you hold (like fraternity or sorority)

The MySpace Online Community

MySpace caters to all walks of life, like people who are looking to talk to others online, singles looking to meet other singles, families who want  to keep in touch with one another, classmates and business associates, etc.

After creating a free account through MySpace, you will be required to build out your personal profile, which serves as your MySpace homepage. The MySpace profile is somewhat similar to the Friendster profile in that all social networking sites offer similar profile sections geared towards providing other users with an adequate amount of information regarding you and your interests. Basic MySpace profile information includes:

• Name
• Sex
• Age
• Location
• Photos
• A personal quote

The more detailed section of the MySpace profile includes information regarding the following:

• General interests such as music, movies, books, television shows, Web sites, etc.
• A section where you can list any and all heroes you have.
• Sections related to both your professional life and any past schooling you may have. (This is provided for the purpose of generating a link between people who went to the same school, or worked for the same company.)
• A “friends’ comments” section where friends from your network can post comments.