Has the Social Network Exodus Begun?

** UPDATES to this post at the bottom **

It's official: Michael Bailey is off MySpace and Facebook.

If you don't know Michael personally, you've probably never been to a social media function. I've known Michael to pop up at PodCamps from Boston to Pittsburgh, and at VON in San Jose and PME in SoCal -- all from his homebase in Missouri. For quite awhile, Michael has been one of the few active cross-coast socializers originating from the Midwest.

And he just admitted today that it's mostly bullshit.

Now, granted, Michael has been known to ruffle feathers. Michael is a pot-stirrer, like myself, and is often just as interested in seeing HOW people react as he is in WHAT they actually have to say.

But he brings up a great point, via Twitter:

When you lower the bar of what really matters and what is important, things like social networks crop up like weeds... You all know how to get ahold of me, you have my email address, my cell #, my address. If it matters, reach out, attach yourself.

Let's ignore, for the moment, the fact that not EVERY interaction requires a phone call or an email. (Michael himself would admit that.) The bigger question is:

What PURPOSE Do Social Networks Serve in our Daily Lives?

I myself never use MySpace for personal communication anymore. When I started blogging and Twittering, MySpace lost out in the time sink.

I've also not bothered to join Facebook. Surprisingly, I'm still alive, healthy and getting work.

LinkedIN? The most it's done for me is pepper my inbox with arbitrary questions from people I barely know, about job openings or tech issues. No real traction there.

Pownce? Never bothered.

Delicious? Haven't used it in years.

What Michael (and I) seems to be saying is: the signal-to-noise ratio (god, I love Web 2.0 buzzwords; perhaps they'll someday have a Smithsonian display all their own) is reaching the point of pointlessness.

I've heard many people, myself included, muse about the possibility of deleting their MySpace accounts, now that they've essentially become spam boxes. Perhaps there's a temptation to migrate to Facebook, or whatever else comes next.

But, for people like Michael, perhaps Seth Porges is right -- perhaps social networking is a trend that's about to end.

Do YOU still need YOUR MySpace account?

(Side note: In the earlier days of Twitter, when the system was even buggier [if that's possible], there was a massive one-day defection to Jaiku. It was led by Chris Brogan and Robert Scoble, two of the most influential social media voices. And, of course, when Twitter came back, so did everyone else.

Had they stayed gone, what would have happened to Twitter?

Michael Bailey isn't as much of an inciter as Scoble or Brogan, but his point is much more valid. I'm interested to see if there's a tipping point here, and how close Michael comes to it.)

** UPDATE (8:27 PM Oct 3rd): I just canceled my MySpace account as well. Odd, how a service I once spent so much time on is now something I avoid at all costs. Granted, when I started on MySpace (in 2004), I was single and the service was new -- two great hooks to occupy my time. But now, I have so many other ways to keep up with people, I just don't NEED MySpace.

I still have an STBD account there, though. Why? Because that's the only way some people watch our show, so as long as there's an STBD, there might as well be an STBD MySpace...

Does Anybody Use MySpace Anymore?

Just wondering...

I know there's a gap between the early adopters who use the HELL out of something (like the social media core and MySpace, or Twitter, or...) and the general public. Personally, I haven't logged into either my personal or my STBD account on MySpace in weeks, except to send the occasional "I don't have your email and this is the only way I can find you" message.

Your experience?

What Do We Do About MySpace?

Admit it: you have a MySpace account.

You also haven't used it for anything productive in several weeks. Possibly months.

With the vast amount of spam crippling the communication channels, MySpace is no longer a fun tool to use. Instead, it's become a chore.

Checking in to the STBD account results in me cleaning out a bunch of useless crap in our inbox, from falsified friend requests to hacked email forwards.

Sure, there's the occasional bit of legitimate discourse, but by and large, it's a waste of time. An unnecessary evil.

In the Beginning

It wasn't always like this.

Once upon a time, I checked MySpace like an addict, dozens of times a day. So did you, most likely. The site was new, fresh, fun and filled with great ways to keep in touch with people you actually wanted to communicate with.

Then I, like many others, created a secondary account. This one wasn't personal; it was "business," -- more specifically, it was meant as a promotional tool for our web series. And it worked well in that regard; we're currently somewhere around 7,000 "friends."

Except we don't talk much with those friends these days, because we're too busy sifting through the volumes of spam mail we receive every day.

Who Clicks on This Shit?

If you've ever received a piece of spam mail on MySpace, I'm sure you weren't surprised by the profile it originated from.

Nearly every "dude, check out these ringtones!" or "man, it's true what they say, size DOES matter!" message we get is sent to us by someone who absolutely, categorically does NOT look like someone who would realize these messages are spam in the first place.

And so they click.

And so they perpetuate the cycle.

Considering the alarming number of people who, when faced with the daunting task of adding STBD as a "friend" or not, respond back with "what r u?" or "who dis?", I really shouldn't be at all surprised when reams of spam come to me from these types of mouth breathers. These are the people who walk into Yahoo Chat rooms and strike up conversations with bots.

Where Do We Migrate?

Meanwhile, I never even check my personal MySpace profile anymore. With two legitimate blogs and a Twitter account to keep up with, who has time for MySpace?

Am I jumping the ship prematurely? Does MySpace have what it takes to become valid again? Or has the vast majority of intelligent internet users moved on to something better? (Virb? Nothing?)

I feel like the evolution of "internet hot spots" is growing at an alarming rate. Case in point, everyone on Twitter seems to have decided to move over to Jaiku today, due to Twitter's unpredictable lag. And yet, Jaiku's servers are already creaking under strain.

Is patience dead in a world where everything is at our fingertips? Is there any room left for gradual improvement, or do things merely fall apart with time?

And what does any of this mean for social networking?

How Many Social Networks Does It Take to Screw in a Lightbulb?

As I mentioned yesterday, I recently joined Virb, on the advice of Justine, who proudly proclaims Virb to be the new and improved version of MySpace.

I agree, Virb is nice. It's clean. It allows for increased customizability without needing to resort to trolling the internet for hacks and codes. And because it's so new, it doesn't have the profile that attracts spammers (yet).

But why do I need Virb? I already have a MySpace.

Tool Time

I've also been toying with Ning and People Aggregator, which are two sites that allow you, the user, to CREATE YOUR OWN social networks.

Why?

What will your new social network do that you can't already accomplish with a forum, a message board, or a Twitter account?

Some people like, Steve Garfield, use Ning as a catch-all for existing groups, like Boston Mediamakers. That would make sense, as long as the group doesn't already have its own website or wiki.

After all, isn't asking people to come to two different sources for the same information a bit redundant? And if there's different information on both sites, isn't that a bit presumptuous to assume that a group's members have the time and interest to visit both sites regularly?

As with your blog and your actual site, all peripherals -- MySpace, Twitter, wikis, etc. -- must build back to the same brand. They must build on the overall experience for a member of your group -- or, in STBD's case, our fans -- rather than creating a disjointed, cacophonous racket.

They Can't All Be Screwdrivers

However, that's not to say you can't happily maintain a presence on numerous social networking platforms.

The question is, WHAT DO YOU DO at each of them?

As the grandaddy of the form, MySpace has one thing going for it: numbers. It's easier to aggregate a large audience there than anywhere else, solely because they already have the userbase. If you need to get a message out fast to the legions, MySpace is the place to do it.

So why use another service? Because perhaps there are actions you can take there that you can't take at MySpace.

Let's consider Virb again. What are the pros?

- Clean
- Easily customizable
- Everything is taggable
- Shareable playlists
- No spam (yet)

And the cons?

- Small(er) userbase
- Small(er) growth rate
- Potential redundancy with MySpace

So, from a user-end POV, if I didn't already have a MySpace, I'd choose Virb in a heartbeat. Presuming it'll continue to grow at a healthy clip as more and more people discuss it, it may become the social networking site of choice for people who prefer it to the five-and-dime look (and interface) of MySpace.

What potential actions could be taken on a smaller, more nimble platform? Could Virb be used to:

- Create a "street team" of more centralized, passionate individuals?
- Recruit extras for filming group scenes, with friends sorted by location tags?
- Program a faux-podcast using the built-in shareable playlist feature?
- Easily buzz businesses for sponsorships or event hosting, using friend tags?
- Encourage fans to customize their own brand-themed Virb pages?

MySpace has long been established as a place where users come to "hang out" and exchange information about themselves. With a name like "Virb," it seems only natural that the site could be used for far more action-oriented experiences.

What other ways could you use Virb?

What other ways could you use other social networks?