My cheat week, I'll post some papers

I'm kind of cheating this week. What can I say, I have a lot to type this week. I'm working on another essay, and a summary, plus mid-terms. I can do it, but it's Monday, and I'm a little behind.

Here is my summary for the week. I think this should make some nice reading, and fulfill all of my course requirements. This summary is on users on Facebook and MySpace. It is interesting, but if you go to page 263 of Real Essays with 2009 MLA update you can read the essay to see how I do.


Summery of essay Facebook or MySpace
In an essay written by Mario Mighletti, Facebook or MySpace, he writes about users of Facebook and MySpace, and their different characteristics. He reports that Danah Boyd has done a research report on the types of users that use these sites. He says, "A controversial recent research report indicates that they attract very different kinds of users." What Danah had concluded was, "User preferences are defined more by social class that by any other factor.”

In this report Mario states that Boyd characterizes the typical Facebook user as, "the goodie two shoes, jock, athletes… the kids who come from families who emphasize education and going to college…. They are in honors classes, looking forward to the prom, and live in a world dictated by after-school activities." She also said, "MySpace is still home for Latino/Hispanic teens, immigrant teens, 'burnouts,' 'alternative kids,' 'art fags.' punks, Goths, gangstas, queer kids. These are the kids whose parents didn't go to college, who are expected to get a job when they finish high school.

Mario disagrees with the resulting conclusion of the reports and says,”Many people I know belong to both and do the same kinds of things on both.” When he referred to the military he says, “I wonder what information these people have that I don’t.”

In my opinion, I do agree that the subject research is flawed and needs to be more completed. There is no long term study and it is missing several areas that should be covered. I see that the research didn't mention that Face Book only allowed users that had college e-mail in the beginning. This in itself would be a flag to scrutinize the subject report more closely. Where could all the other people to go for a similar site. Mario uses other references to support his essay in which he said, “Apparently, the military also believes that Facebook and MySpace are very different sites with different purposes and users." Using the military as part of an opinion to say something that they actually didn't was incorrect. He did say that, and I quote, "The reason given were national security and amount of bandwidth available (McMichael)."