Practicum 8 - Natalie Berkley

When looking back at all of the social networking sites I joined, I feel as though I did not research social spaces. I felt as though I was almost reading blogs or following someone else's work. Many social networking sites have become more like special interest groups and can only relate to those interested in the goal of the site. Unlike Facebook, MySpace, and other sites, these less popular sites that I studied are not designed to create social spaces. They all have other goals that are put above the social aspects. Many of the sites do not even have direct communication or friends lists that one can access. For example, on Film Affinity, I added some of my "movie soulmates" to my friends list yet nothing changed. There were no profiles to look at or any information that encouraged me to pursue a social interaction. These sites are more about personal use and gain as opposed to a more collective and participatory site based around your personal social life. Social networking has definitely been changing based on the success of few websites and the minimum, niche audiences that many were receiving instead.