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HOME • MANAGE SUBSCRIPTIONS • MEDIA KIT
OVER THE LINE
Not in My Neighborhood
by George Simpson, Friday, October 16, 2009, 7:00 AM


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It turns out that it isn't true that on the Internet "no one knows you're a dog."

A recent study by Nielsen Claritas found that people on MySpace are decidedly more "middle-class, blue-collar" than those on Facebook, and that denizens of both are more downscale than users of LinkedIn and Twitter. Which should come as little surprise, since our nation has a rich heritage of isolating social classes along economic, racial and even religious lines. If we choose to live in neighborhoods surrounded by people "like us," it follows that we would want to hang out online with those like us. But, just like you don't want any outsiders to move in and "lower the property values," I think it is important that we protect the class lines in social media.

For example, if Ralph Kramden or Ed Norton were to post their resumes in LinkedIn, I think it only appropriate if you threaten to post negative criticism of their work, until they decamp to MySpace where "surely they would be more comfortable."

And if you get a Twitter from Norton that claims the right way to address the ball in golf is, "Hellooooo, ball!" I suggest you encourage everyone you know to stop following him to minimize his impact on the generally highly level of discourse flowing across the Twitter world (notice of the consumption of unappetizing meals and distance run achievements notwithstanding.)

Is it me, or do the drunken teenagers on Facebook seem to come from better suburban and private schools than the more rural and urban drunken teenagers on MySpace? Something sure to catch the eye of admission committees who can discern between barf on a Polo shirt vs. a Sean John. Or perhaps they can spot the premium beer and liquor brands in the hands of the more affluent stumble bums. On the other hand, with lily-white teenagers sooner or later all going through their gangsta phases, it might make sorting out the MySpacers from the Facebookers a little harder.

But browsing the conversation in each social medium should yield clues to those out of their designated elements. For example, if someone in MySpace says they thought it "a travesty that Placido Domingo was given the $1 million Birgit Nilsson Award by Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf instead of Roberto Alagna, who probably lost points because of his pending divorce from Angela Gheorghiu..." it might be a year or two before anyone else comments with the exception of "yo, don't forget to wear your Vikings jersey to the bowling tournament on Friday. Go Brett!"

Similarly, if someone on Facebook posts, "Got a great looking 5 in. kafer fitting; looks like I can finish the sink by Thursday..." it would be not be inappropriate to post back: "Have you thought about heading over to MySpace, where somebody (perhaps even everybody) will know what the hell a kafer fitting IS?"

It is harder to hide your identity on LinkedIn, since you are supposed to post your resume so in theory someone could hire you. That this has never once happened in the history of social media should not discourage you, but since everyone else in LinkedIn is so frickin' upscale, you might want to embellish here or there. For example: Executive Assistant to Regional Sales Manager (2004-2005) Responsible for recruiting, training and managing team of 250 sales representatives in 8 international offices. Grew company revenues from 2K to $3.5 million in less than one year. Got that same Salesman of the Year trophy that Michael Scott has on his desk. Left to pursue other entrepreneurial interests.

Finally, in order to maintain the "status" of Twitter, it is essential that you never twit about any of the following: Razrs, Gossip Girl, Michael Arrington, the Kansas City Chiefs, NOS Energy Powershot, AT&T coverage, SAW VI, Blackstone, Glenn Beck, Brazilian Butt Lift Autologous Fat Transfer or AOL. In no particular order.

5 people recommend this article. 

One comment on "Not in My Neighborhood"

  1. Monica Bower from 3x Systems
    commented on: October 16, 2009 at 10:05 AM
    Snarky, but here's the thing that the metrics don't (maybe can't) calculate, in all seriousness; while the average means of the varous social nets are different, within any given social net there is subdivision as well. This is most evident on twitter where (unlike the other three) anyone can 'follow' anyone without permission or even particular notice from the target/victim/friend/connection/etc, there the lines are more easily crossed so that at some point you have work-at-home bots tweeting to pornstar spammers about joining each other's mafia family and no human beings may even be involved in the transaction at all.

    See my riff on 'Your AutoDM is weak" @3xSystems for more examples of how the downscale and the upscale mix uncomfortably (for the upscale at least) on Twitter. Having a business account that gives few clues as to my gender or interests (other than talking to customers, selling my products, and occasionally identifying the origins of pictures of obscure transformers - when there's some possibility that may lead to selling my products to someone), the homogenously useless nature of the various spam direct messages I automatically get while following back people who have followed me is amusing and, really, inspiring. The sad thing being I usually don't follow back any really egregiously obvious bots or spammers (because they're never going to buy my product or start a conversation or share an insight or do anything other than ask me if I want more followers).

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