[Air-l] viewing American class divisions through Facebook and MySpace

[Conor Schaefer]

I just saw this post on ValleyWag, though I'd toss it in for discussion. 
If we're discussing social networks revealing class divisions, we're 
rather limiting the discussion by only addressing MySpace and Facebook, 
aren't we?

http://valleywag.com/tech/data-junkie/the-world-map-of-social-networks-273201.php

Casey O'Donnell wrote:
> This is a really interesting topic and discussion, and I hate to put
> my $0.02 because I'
>
> I really see two distinct threads.
>
> 1.) Class/race divisions are (somewhat/arguably/qualifiiably)
> replicated in the MySpace/Facebook divide.
>
> 2.) The politics of aesthetics between MySpace and Facebook.
>
> I think the combination of the two has complicated the situation and
> made it harder to pull apart. Of course the two discussions are
> eventually linked, but argued and approached much differently. Now I'm
> going to qualify my statements (and admit that my "middle class"
> "suburban" aesthetics are also leading me to want this discussion
> cleaner, despite growing up working class suburban, turned academic,
> which is obviously not "working" class any more) and say that I
> absolutely abhor MySpace. I quite like Facebook and enjoy playing with
> it when I ought to be writing my dissertation. This has had more to do
> with MySpace's CPU usage than anything else, though aesthetics do
> enter into it.
>
> But, I think the original article was focused more on how class has
> been reified (and perhaps also complicated) in the MySpace/Facebook
> demographic split. This is very interesting, and I don't doubt it. I'm
> also keenly interested in how the military has chosen to block one and
> not the other. There are many interesting pieces of that.
>
> I see the politics of aesthetics as connected, but not at the core of
> the argument of the original article/essay. Simultaneously I'd be
> careful about the aesthetic argument, because it can quickly get you
> into trouble, "This group of people tends to be/like..."
>
> Then there are other technological issues or political economic. I
> have yet to receive a Facebook "friend" request from someone posing as
> a front for porn sites, yet my MySpace account gets nearly 20 a week.
>
> Interesting stuff.
>
> Cheers.
> Casey
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