Facebook vs. Myspace

by Victoria Nicolau & Kristine Codega '11

vs.

People originally know MySpace as a remake of Friendster (founded in 2002 as a communication website emphasizing friendship), but now that another big organization, Facebook, has come into the picture, controversy has sparked about whether Myspace or Facebook is the better website.

Myspace was introduced in 2003 by Tom Anderson, Chris DeWolfe, and Cody Olson. Today, it employs over 1,000 individuals. Myspace offers a wide range of benefits that Facebook does not, such as: a more personalized home page and profile, an easier to maneuver site, there are premade layouts that make designing profiles easier, you can have a "Top Friends." Myspace now streams Twitter updates straight to your Status and Mood. Music can be applied to MySpace profiles, unlike Facebook. To communicate with friends you can post a bulletin or add a comment to their profile as well as send a private message to them.

Facebook was founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskovitz, Eduardo Saverin, and Chris Hughes. The founders were college roommates at Harvard University and they had created Facebook for Harvard use only. Later, use was expanded to other Boston area colleges as a source of communication. Over time, the website was made available to high school students, and later to anyone age 13 and older.

The activities and applications that Facebook offers that MySpace does not include: Stickam updates, privacy on every profile, the ability to have "likes," the ability to become a fan of a person or organization, join a cause, and leave notes so other users can view them. Photos can be directly uploaded onto your Wall which is the alternative comment area for Facebook. This site is frequently used in a college setting to communicate with students, teachers, clubs, organizations, or other groups about upcoming events or important information. Quizzes can be taken on Facebook, unlike MySpace, which only contains surveys created by users that are posted onto bulletins. If you enjoy a certain item, game, or page on Facebook, you can bookmark it for later viewing.

MySpace and Facebook also have some features in common, such as: sending private messages, leaving comments/messages on their wall or pictures, being able to upload albums of pictures from your home computer and tag parts of the picture, you receive notifications when another user gets added to your friends or posts a comment anywhere.

In the age of technology that exists today, communication can be made through either website. It all depends on personal preference. So whether you enjoy viewing pictures, communicating with friends and groups, or meeting new people, both websites are right choice.