#106 Facebook « Stuff White People Like:
"Social Networking sites have been embraced by white people since their inception...
However, it is important to remember that the “where” is often as important as the “who” when it comes to social networking. As noted in earlier posts, white people are obsessed with being in the right neighborhood and the Internet is no exception.
In the early days, white people joined a social networking service called Friendster where they could connect with old friends and make new ones. Eventually, white people started to notice more and more of their friends on MySpace, so they closed their Friendster accounts and migrated to the new service...
For a brief period of time, MySpace was the site where everyone kept their profile and managed their friendships. But soon, the service began to attract fake profiles, the wrong kind of white people, and struggling musicians. In real world terms, these three developments would be equivalent to a check cashing store, a TGIFridays, and a housing project. All which strike fear in the hearts of white people.
White people were nervous but had nowhere else to go. Then Facebook came along and offered advanced privacy settings, closed networks, and a clean interface. In respective real world terms, these features are analogous to an apartment or house with a security system/doorman, an alumni dinner, and a homeowners association that protects the aesthetics of the neighborhood...
If you plan on befriending white people, it is essential that you join them in the digital suburbs and open a Facebook account immediately..."
I still have a Friendster and a MySpace page, but the fact that Facebook doesn't let you control the color or background of your page is actually a plus. By removing that customizable functionality, Facebook maintains a legibility throughout. And I have yet to encounter a single spambot or struggling rapper in my friend requests.
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