Myspace vs. Facebook

Myspace and Facebook are two of the world's most popular social networking sites. Although both sites are spectacular for socializing, they contrast in terms of page layout, custom features, and notifiable perks and issues.

Myspace allows its user to create a profile that can be personalized in a multitude of ways, but also has some unfavorable aspects to the site. A myspace user can change his or her profile background design. This includes font size, font color, choice of background images, and where one would like certain modules to be placed. A myspace user also has the choice of hiding or displaying certain information. Comments, pictures, "about me" section, and last login date are a few of many things one can choose to show or keep hidden on his or her profile. Myspace allows its user to choose songs to post on their profile. This means the user has the ability to create an infinite amount of song playlists for friends to listen to while visiting his or her profile page. Myspace also supplies its user with a personal homepage aside from a profile page. This is in turn helpful because it allows the user to check messages, notifications, and picture comments. Myspace has simple and ''to the point'' privacy settings as compared to Facebook. The user may choose to allow everyone to view his or her profile, or just his or her friends. This same rule is applied to picture album access. Myspace also tends to aim its site towards teenagers by providing its users with a cornicopia of gaming applications like "Mafia Wars" and "Sorority Life", and allowing its user to find friends by high school name. A major downfall regarding the Myspace site is its inabilty to limit the number of friends a user can have; he or she may have two million friends and up which can be somewhat overwhelming to the account holder. Myspace carries alot of spam on its site as well. On any occassion, a user's inbox can be filled with unessesary messages from anonymous people. One of the most problematic issues with Myspace is the fact that it is extremely easy for one's account to get phished; or hacked. By simply opening a message, a Myspace user's account may become hacked or encounter a harmful virus.

Facebook, a second and recently more popular social networking site, delivers the same purpose as Myspace but differs in certain aspects. A Facebook user has no actual "profile". He or she is provided with one page that is seen by friends. The user has a comment wall that displays recent activity which cannot be customized. Facebook allows its user to post "What's On Your Mind?" in the form of status updates. Unlike Myspace, Facebook's page design is the same for everyone, meaning that nothing on a user's page can be customized or tweeked to his or her own specifications. Facebook also has an over abundance of applications as well as unnessesary groups one can join. The user may add as many applications as he or she wants, and can join groups like " I hate cold peanut butter". One unsatisfactory feature of Facebook is its complicated privacy settings. "Friends of friends" can still view an individual's page unless he or she specifically changes it, tagged photos can still be seen by others even if the user may not want this, and it is extremely easy to view other people's wall and photo albums if one user posts a picture or link on another users wall whom he or she is already friends with. Facebook is a more mature site than Myspace in the aspect of its site being geared towards college students and people in the business world. Facebook allows it user to be "straight forward" by posting links and having simple methods of contact, instead of slowing the user down by having musical playlists and such. Another positive feature about Facebook is it being much easier to keep in close contact with friends and family members. This is due to the friend limit Facebook gives to its users.

In actuality, both Myspace and Facebook are great social networking sites. Myspace has positive and negative elements as well as Facebook, and they can both be used according to one's personal reasons for socially networking.

Word count: 762