Why I Quit MySpace
It’s been a long time coming, but yesterday I finally did it. I deleted my page and canceled my account. Some of my friends were shocked, others gave me understanding nods of approval. Each camp wanted to hear my reasons, so here they are:
1. I got sick of being hammered with friend requests.
Every day one or two people I know would pester me, "Why aren’t you my friend yet?" Quit bugging me. I have a job. And a life.
2. It doesn’t do what I signed up for.
I joined MySpace to keep in touch with friends and to follow bands. It turns out my friends all keep in touch by email and IM. I can follow the bands that interest me and listen to their songs without logging in, so I don’t need to subject myself to Problem #1.
3. MySpace isn’t the place to be anymore.
Two years ago, everyone I knew was rabidly signing up on MySpace. Today, my friends who still use social networks have moved on, either to last.fm or Facebook.
MySpace was exciting for two reasons. It combined blogging, photos, music and social connections on one site. More importantly, everyone I knew was there.
Today, though, I blog on my own site, share my photos on Flickr, and discover new music on last.fm. I also keep a profile at LinkedIn.
There’s no denying that MySpace is the Wal-Mart of social networks. But over the past two years, I’ve come to learn that I prefer to go to boutiques for my needs.
