Obama Online: Facebook Vs. MySpace
Reader Comments
hey
Face book is wayy better than myspaceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Facebook is Better
MySpace is cumbersome and full of trashy ads.
Facebook is fresh, new, and not nearly as creepy. It's easier to block pedophiles and drooling old men. (I do wish BOTH sites would notice that I am happily married and not interested in "sexy singles want to meet you!" So many foolish married folks jump ship with lines like that one. Divorce isn't good for the country, or its families.)
I network best on Facebook. I connect with old friends, new friends, business associates, my husband and children, and their friends. The photo features and music capabilities are fabulous.
I also prefer gmail to any other email. It just works better.
Yes, I'm a 55 year old grandma.
I've heard Obama will have to dump his Blackberry; I can't imagine he'll be allowed to keep his Facebook page.
Obama 50-state strategy on MySpace
MySpace was the only place where Obama brought his 50-state strategy online--I read somewhere that Obama had almost 60 official MySpace pages during the campaign. There are definitely different demographics on the two sites, but the reason that most in DC use Facebook is b/c they are not paying attention to what the rest of the country is doing (shocking that would happen in DC, I know!). Facebook is growing more overseas than in the US...plus its only about connecting to people you already know.
If you want to reach the middle of America, the west coast, the south, the cultural, ethnic groups, etc (and not just the "northeast-type," already-engaged, highly-educated constituents), you would use MySpace, too.
And if 42% of people want leaders on Myspace...how come they aren't there?
Obama and facebook
Apart from activity it is important to realize that facebook is much more sophisticated and easy to use in this context. Hence there simply is no comparison.
Obama and Social Networks
This is probably less about which network people think Obama should use and more a reflection of which networks people themselves are active in. I would guess that if you were to ask those same people, which network they used, you would get pretty much the same results. My point here is that if Obama wants to use social networks, then he should go where the people are. As you pointed out, different social networks are going to have different demographics and different types of users, each with some feedback that might be useful to the administration.
