Martha L. Gould
4/25/07
ITEC-333: Assignment #2
Prof. Melander
PRESENTATION of SELF
Migente and Blackplanet
Social Networking sites have grown in popularity over the last six years. When I was a freshman in high school I was part of both the blackplanet community as well as the migente community. Both the blackplanet and the migente online communities are pretty much the same, but the crowds are a little more concentrated towards a racial/ethnic group, hence the different names. Myspace has become very popular in the last few years, but unlike blackplanet and migente, myspace has a more diverse set of online individuals. Now not too many people use either of the sites since myspace has become sort of a merger of the two and not to mention more popular than the two sites. Myspace is a larger community and many who have myspace once had or still have a migente or a blackplanet.
For one to set up a profile on migente or blackplanet, that individual registers with their email and creates a password. The individual then starts by creating a catchy display name/nickname; putting together their background for their site; adding pictures; filing in fields about themselves regarding interests, physical appearance, and any other things about oneself. A user of the blackplanet or migente community is provided with profile backgrounds or may create their own according to their preferences. Many people end up using other creative backgrounds from other sites on the internet, which is also very similar to the way one would set up a background for myspace.
Some people on their social networking sites on migente or blackplanet do not present themselves as the person they really are and some do. Some do this to “spy” on others or just simply out of fun for them. Those who do not present themselves as the person they are, invent a “costume” to their public to either gain more hits (which are views of your site). Others present who they really are, not putting on a front or a “costume.” An observer is able to find a mix of the two.
When representing themselves on their profiles those who are legit to say, do so in a manner which is almost describing them as confident and trusting of others. Persons display pictures of themselves doing normal day things such as: going to parties, drinking, having fun with friends, etc. These sites give the users a chance to express themselves visually and creatively as they would in a diary only it being online and them being more open with their business.
Most of the profiles found seem to be truthful, since a numerous amount of individuals seem to be looking for friends as well as romantic relationships. But there are those certain few which do often mislead others in to thinking they are people they may not be. Many times an observer can tell whether or not a person on a particular profile is truthful or legit by picking up on certain clues and observing the person’s consistency.
The profiles effect the user’s role within the social networking community by how active a user is on their profile and others as well. An individual’s profile’s views is dependent on how jazzed up it is. The more fancy the background, the more catchy the display name and the more attractive the pictures on the profile, the more views it receives. The role of a user in the social networking community is dependent on how much they are able to dress their site up with the previous mentioned factors. If a user has no pictures and their site is not particularly attracting the eye, their role isn’t necessarily that great within that online community.
If someone is looking to achieve a large role within any online community they must be active and have a well presentable profile. With these things any user of any online community whether myspace, blackplanet or migente will receive more views of their profile and more of a role as well as attention in that online community. It is all about how you present yourself or how you “sell” yourself on your site(s).
