One of the best things regarding social media is how at times it can become a fragile time capsule of what was. This is even more prevalent when you were once active on one site (Myspace) and stop using this media outlet only to revisit it years later. Though you may have abandoned the network, the network did not abandon you and kept everything the same as when you left it.
Revisiting my Myspace profile was probably on some levels the same as when archaeologists explored the lost city of Pompeii decades later to see everything preserved as if nothing had changed when the reality was that everything had changed. That is what Myspace overall has become to not only myself, but others, a forgotten city.
I spent several minutes re-reading what blogs I had posted throughout the span of 2-3 years (yes, I occasionally blogged before it became a classroom requirement) and just reflecting on the events of life that I covered during those years was both insightful and showed how much can change in life within 5-6 years (it had been around 2 1/2 years since the last time I even logged in to Myspace). Its funny, the main topic that I was continuously discussing during my blogs was life after graduating from EKU and whether I would continue my studies at EKU, NKU, Ole Miss, or Florida State (though I really have no recollection on why I even considered FSU) while debating on pursuing a law career (which I'm glad I didn't, the last thing the world needs is another lawyer). I found humor in those postings as life has a funny way of laying out a completely different path for you and while I was re-reading my past entries, I was doing so from my apartment in Lafayette, Indiana where I now attend Purdue in search of a Ph.D.
I finally decided enough time had been spent on my past and deleted Myspace account (which since they redid the site has become easier then previous attempts). In doing so it left me to wonder this, will Facebook one day fall the way of Pompeii and Myspace and itself become a "forgotten city" where people will leave a piece of themselves and their past only to stumble upon later in life? I personally do not believe this to be the case as Facebook had/has a better business layout then Myspace, but I'm sure other social media networks will follow the same way as users are constantly shifting to the "NEXT BIG THING."
Besides the Big Lebowski being one of my favorite movies, I can totally relate to the myspace issue. For my second job, they actually searched me on myspace (even though I had not been on there since high school.) I thought it was weird when my boss new things about me in high school. When they let me know, I deleted it immediately. However, the information is still out there, on a server. Do you think they will soon develop a database of past social media profiles? Wouldn't that just be horrible (mostly because of my delusional teenage angst myspace blog posts that I now wish I saved.)
ReplyDeleteLOL, it was a bit longer than a few decades when they took a look at Pompeii, but I get your point :)
ReplyDeleteI remember using Myspace back in high school until Facebook came around my senior year. I used both during my freshman year at Purdue as more of my college friends had Facebook and my friends from back home and still in high school had Myspace. I continued using both until eventually most of my friends from back home had a Facebook, so I no longer needed two separate accounts. I kept my Myspace, however, and just blocked the profile instead of deleting it because I still want the ability to go look at it, kind of like a time capsule as you mentioned.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to Facebook one day being forgotten, I think that it will be quite sometime before the next big thing comes around to replace Facebook. A lot of people have invested so much in their Facebook that it would take a lot to convince them to start using another social networking service. Facebook is also good at keeping up with what the users want and constantly changing the interface, applications, etc., in the best interest of the users. I know that Facebook has changed dramatically since I began using it four years ago, and I am still using it regardless of the changes they've made.