MySpace

Everything in the world has good and bad aspects, and that can definitely be said as true for the phenomenon that is Facebook. So now to the real question: is Facebook a valuable communication platform beneficial to all its users, or merely a time waster that has caused more headaches than happiness?

Join Baratunde Thurston (left), The Onion’s Director of Digital and author of How to Be Black, for an entertaining look at creative social media campaigns in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting February 16. Other speakers include Morin Oluwole (Facebook), Tim Devane (bitly), and SocialTimes' writer Devon Glenn.   Register now.

We have been hearing how Tumblr has been growing like crazy, but now the social networking platform is getting noticed even more with The Beastie Boys new song, “Make Some Noise.” The popular rock band introduced their new song from their next album by playing it on Tumblr. Beastie Boy Mike D posted on the site about using Tumblr and saying that it wasn’t really part of the plan, but since followers are out there, “we wanted to let you hear it here first, or maybe second. Enjoy.”

“We are not here to compete with the other social networking mega sites, like Facebook or MySpace, we are here to give the musicians and music lovers a social networking website of their own,” says new CEO, Jason Pomales.

It’s one of the reasons why the social networking craze has reached mega proportions, modern teenagers would be lost without it and it is arguably the most beloved pastime of today’s youth. It, my friends, is online stalking.

Even though X-Factor will benefit by collaborating with Facebook, so will the social networking platform. The publicity of the show arriving in September and the massive hype due to Cowell’s fame from Idol and his huge success with X-Factor in the UK is enough to boast Facebook numbers even higher than its 550 million users worldwide.

Social networking has taken over the world in a way that nobody could have possibly predicted, but if the majority of teenagers resort to talking about talking, even if it is online communication, something’s gone seriously wrong. Is this really what the world has come to?

In a society that is driven by gadgets, money and social networking sites, it is no wonder that Facebook has become a part of everyday life. But using these sites to date over the internet? Is that really what the world has come to?

Social Media has already proven itself to be a viable platform for traditional advertising. Now, a number of companies are attempting to track and successfully manipulate the elusive viral world – and there’s no shortage of prospective clients.

The biggest concern for parents used to be the strange, old man hanging around outside the ice-creamery. Now, with instant access to stranger worldwide, stranger danger has taken on a whole new meaning.

Myspace’s massive redesign has angered many musicians and threats of jumping ship abound. However, could it be that this is a short-sighted view that’s missing the new MySpace’s promise for sharing music better than ever before?