I have a confession to make. Are you sitting down? Well, I've been unfaithful. Yes, it's true. Not to Randy, but to you, my dear readers.
I've been fooling around on MySpace when I should have been writing posts for this blog. I don't blame you if you feel wronged. After all, MBS was my first love, at least within the blogosphere. But, you know how it is. I got a little bored and a little curious and I just had to venture out and see for myself.
So why am I baring my soul here, and why now? Surely not to have another reader tell me that I deserve a spanking. I imagine I do, but that isn't the point. Besides, readers tell me that I need a spanking even when I've been nothing but sweet.
In any case, what's done is done. Things being what they are, I thought it might be useful to share six observations I've made while on the "other side."
- Mental Clutter - MySpace is a busy place. Everywhere there are items to read and features to try. The hours just melt away. To a newcomer, it's all novel, strange, and oddly compelling. Which brings us to...
- The whole "Friend" thing - Friends are the coin of the realm on MySpace. Users who are active and popular acquire hundreds or even thousands of friends. The less ambitions are content with a smaller number of friends they actually know. Either way, without friends, MySpace would be a lonely place.
The way it works is that one person asks another person to allow them to be a friend. If the second person agrees, they become friends. MySpace members have the ability to grant friends special privileges that are not available to casual browsers. I've invited a number of people to be my friends and I've received several invitations as well. For the most part, the system works pretty well.
Sometimes, though, I get friend invitations from people I don't know and what little little I can see of their profile gives me no reason to believe we have anything in common. I don't want to friend them indiscriminately. I'm not that kind of girl. On the other hand, I hate the idea of rejecting someone I don't even know. I suppose I could approve them now and dump them later, but that seems even more inconsiderate. For the moment, this remains a dilemma. - Paranoia - Censorship is alive at MySpace and practiced aggressively. I've encountered a dozen people so far who said their profiles were deleted without explanation. This has given rise to a kind of paranoia about everything that is posted, linked, or uploaded. Given our favorite subject matter, our community must always be concerned about freedom of expression. As befitting a company that also owns Fox News, MySpace is not exactly championing our liberties.
- Old pals - I was delighted to find many, many people I know at MySpace. Some I knew were there when I joined. But most were a happy discovery. In the past week, I've conversed with friends with whom I lost touch ages ago. This was really cool.
- Blogging? - What I don't see much at MySpace is blogging. There are lots of messages, status updates, bulletins, and such, but precious little of what I would consider blogging. Erica has an outstanding blog, but most other serious bloggers seem to maintain a second presence elsewhere. I can see why. The blogging features are far behind those of Blogger or WordPress. Before I actually tried it, I had the impression that there were loads of great blogs on MySpace that I simply couldn't access as an outsider. Based upon a week of observation, that may not be the case.
- Advertising - It would take me a long time to get used to seeing full color McDonald's Big Mac advertisements inside my blog. I realize those ads are the basis of their revenue stream, but ew. Just ew.
So, after a week of MySpace, I can tell you that it is weird, fun, enlightening, and unnerving. I don't know to what extent I will continue to hang out at MySpace, but I think this has been a worthwhile journey.
For MySpace users who desire to check out my mini-MBS outpost (it's pretty lame to be honest), you can find it here. When you friend me, be sure to tell me you're an MBS reader.
15 comments :
Cool! I've never been to MySpace before, except to read Erica.
And I'm sure the hours do fly by there!
Hugs,
Hermione
Good for you, Bonnie. I joined at one point to view a particular site, but I gave up before I got very far. Sounds interesting, at least from an anthropological point of view!
Hugs,
Indy
Hi. *smiles* I checked out MySpace myself when I was blog platform hunting. I quickly realized it was too commercial for my tastes.
I took a cruise over for the fun of seeing your post. I couldn't access your page unless I signed in. I keep hoping they will delete my profile and single post at some point if I just ignore it for long enough, so I didn't sign in.
I'm sure its fun and much better than you think it is though. *smiles*
You found me on myspace! And yes, it can be very time consuming, especially when it's new. I don't spend as much time on my spanko myspace page as I do on my vanilla one. And I don't really care for their blog feature which is why I have this one.
XOXO
~Brat V~
Bonnie, I admit, even with its censorship, glitches and the somewhat mixed group, I am totally hooked on MySpace. I suppose I could have moved my blog to a dedicated blog spot and not have to worry about being deleted, but I feel like my place is there and people know me. I've made some amazing friends, too!
I do back up my blogs on Word, in case I get zapped.
Oh, and you're probably getting a lot of those friend invites from people who listened to me when I wrote, "Hey everyone! Add this woman!" (grins) -- Erica
Bonnie, I must admit that my first thought (a deliberately silly one), before I read your comment about "catching it" for your actions, was that you needed an affectionate swat from each of us tops - a kinder, gentler version of what once happened to a team mate of mine when the coaches (four of them!) learned that he'd trashed his locker door showing his girlfriend how strong he was except in the brain, into which maybe the twenty swats soaked. BTW, that's punishment of a youngster with which I take huge issue. Thank goodness it's illegal just about everywhere now.
Seriously, Bonnie, if you've something to say, then say it! We don't care about your forum, as long as you keep touching base with us from time to time. The better you are, the more latitude you have, and you're the best.
holiday hugs,
Anon VII
MySpace drives me nuts, but I guess I'm kind of stuck with it because I've been blogging there AND on my "regular" blog, http://thiscatiscrazy.blogspot.com/. I was originally going to try to do two separate blogs -- MySpace for the spanking-related material and my Blogger blog for everything else, but that's too much. Now I'm just posting the same blog on both sites. Oh, and to complicate matters further, I started another Blogger blog from my top persona.
Tried facebook for a bit, it irritated me. Have you taken a look at FetLife yet, it's not too old so it doesn't have a huge number of members yet but there is no censorship issue.
Prefectdt
Thanks for the request on myspace. I also have a spanko one and a vanilla one but I tend to be on my spanko one more lol. I don't use the myspace blog at all except for adding a link to my blog there. But I do have some fun writing emails and getting comments from other spankos and things. I love your blog and things and I thank you for all the encouraging comments and the things as well. If you think myspace is addicting then you probably shouldn't add the own your friends application on there that is addicting lol.
Possibly we should start a new "myREDbottomspace" site. Or is stead of Facebook make it "RedBottomBook".
I don't visit any of the above type sites but enjoy your blog bonny and a few others listed here.
One concern is the picture of your jean clad bottom on this page looks remarkably like my sisters.... that is both amusing and very disturbing.. LOL and grins.
Hermione - As you are no doubt discovering, it's a whole different world.
Indiana - It is a bit like immersion in a foreign culture, isn't it?
Greenwoman - My impressions are those of a neophyte. I imagine if I stick around, I will learn more and be able to do more.
Brat V - It was great to find you! Now, there's just what I need - a vanilla page. All I'd have to do is give up eating, sleeping, and working and I would have plenty of time to blog. ;D
Erica - I certain;y can't argue with success. In all honesty, one of the primary reasons I joined MySpace was a desire to comment on your blog posts.
As for the deluge of interesting new friends, thank you!
Anon VII - Wow, thanks!
Sandy - I think I might get confused by all those blogs, post in the wrong place, and maybe create an international incident.
I am grateful to MySpace for the opportunity to meet you.
Prefectdt - The last time I tried Fetlife, they wouldn't let me in because my blog was located on Blogger. Perhaps I need to look again.
Cookie - You're right. I don't need any more computer-related addictions!
Love4Her - Allow me to put that conjecture to rest. I am not your sister! :D
I'm addicted to social networking for catching up with old school friends and showing off piccies of me on holiday and nights out. Exhibitionist? I think so *giggles*
All good clean fun.
~elle~
I wonder if McDonalds knows that they are advertising on a site featuring a women grabbing her bottom. Interesting new public face for Mickey D's!
-Jess
I'm another one that's addicted to Myspace, though mostly for the recent applications, like "Own your friends" and "Mobsters." Other than that, it's mostly a networking device for me, allowing me to talk to other spankos that live near or far from me. I've made contact with several spankings friends via that site, including my Cookie. I won't blog on Myspace, simply because of the censorship issue. So far, nothing that I've posted on Myspace has raised too many eyebrows, but it could happen at any time. I feel much more secure on Blogspot.
On a side note, thanks for the add, Bonnie. Sorry that I've been absent from your blog for a while. I'll try to be here a bit more often.
I use my space as a way to keep in touch with younger siblings and cousins. I too struggle with what to do with friend rquests. I want to know the people, but then it is weird to reject someone I don't know, but what if they are weird and I don't want to associate with them ---ah the many questions. I have only a few friends there.
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