I've got to admit that I am probably too much of a blogging nerd to be exactly qualified to comment, but MySpace really stinks. It is clunky, ugly, hard to customize and just plain functions poorly....


Hi, my name is Tim. I'm a blogaholic. I'm addicted to blogahol. MySpace just isn't a blog. I know it isn't supposed to be, but that's what I want it to be. Even with my archaic Blogger, I can ultimately upgrade or edit things very easily- even for a dork like me with zero technical know-how.
Here's the bigger issue to me though; in the nearly two years that I've had a MySpace account, I have only received three legitimate friend requests or invites. I have received hundreds of requests that are actually spam for porn sites or new bands with cheesy spaces. As a parent, forget the marketer trapped deep inside my blog nerd body, I am very concerned about this. My son is almost 14 and is an avid MySpace user. We watch his space and have spoken to him countless times about not giving out too much personal information and feel like he's smart enough to know how to protect himself, but– an invite to a porn site? Hello!
I think new bands, or old bands for that matter, can really use MySpace to great benefit, but any band spamming me is going straight on to my "never gonna buy that cd" list. I promise. Unless it's Bono personally inviting me to help him write the next U2 album– forget it.
MySpace is supposedly experiencing an age shift, at least according to one recent report and Ann's great post. But how long can they support themselves and continue any growth with all the annoying attributes? Will users eventually get tired of the crappy functions, stupid spamming and overall lameness? Will marketers dump loads of money into MySpace right as the switch flips to the "off" position?
I've played with my MySpace site a little here and there- admittedly not enough to be an expert- but the crappy functions and "feel" have turned me off long before I could get turned on. I have to assume I am not alone, but maybe I am?