Understanding the emergence of social protocols on MySpace: impact and its ramifications

Suhr, Hiesun-Cecilia Understanding the emergence of social protocols on MySpace: impact and its ramifications. Revista Comunicar, 2010, vol. XVII, n. 34, pp. 45-53. [Journal article (Paginated)]

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English abstract

Over the recent years, MySpace has been vital to fostering the growth of independent musicians’ followings and have played critical roles in helping mainstream artists maintain fan communities. The popularity of MySpace has been accompanied by the establishment of social protocols which allow musicians to network with one another in an efficient and successful way. These protocols have inspired the publication of various books (such as «MySpace Music Profit Monster!: Proven Online Marketing Strategies!» by Nicky Kalliongis devoted to providing tips and strategies for musicians. While some of these protocols pertain to being savvy with the technological aspect of MySpace, other protocols are directly related to learning a particular manner to network on MySpace. Furthermore, these practices are considered a serious work as they require a lot of time and networking skills to achieve a certain level of success, i.e. increasing the number of friends on one’s network. Thus, this article examines the emerging social protocols on MySpace as a form of affective and immaterial labor. The author argues that the implementation of various tips as provided by MySpace expert will possibly have a regressive effect on musicians’ social networking practices as these could become a standardized and repetitive practice. As a whole, this article traces the evolution of MySpace, especially in regards to the decreasing popularity of the site as a current trend.

Spanish abstract

En los últimos años, MySpace ha sido crucial para promover el aumento de los seguidores de músicos independientes y ha representado un papel muy importante a la hora de ayudar a artistas populares a mantener las comunidades de fans. La popularidad de MySpace ha ido acompañada del establecimiento de protocolos sociales que han permitido a los músicos establecer vínculos entre ellos de una manera eficaz y exitosa. Estos protocolos han servido de inspiración para publicar varios libros (como «MySpace Music Profit Monster!: Proven Online Marketing Strategies!» de Nicky Kalliongis) con consejos y estrategias para los músicos. Si bien, algunos de estos protocolos pretenden conocer el aspecto tecnológico de MySpace, otros protocolos están directamente relacionados con el aprendizaje de una manera particular de conexión en red a través de MySpace. Además, estas prácticas son consideradas un trabajo serio, ya que requieren mucho tiempo y habilidades de conexión en red para lograr un cierto nivel de éxito, es decir, aumentar el número de amigos en la red personal. Así que, en este artículo, se analizan los protocolos sociales emergentes en MySpace como una forma de trabajo afectivo e inmaterial. La autora sostiene que la implementación de algunos consejos, como los proporcionados por expertos en MySpace, posiblemente pueda tener un efecto regresivo en las prácticas de los músicos en redes sociales, ya que podrían estandarizarizarse y volverse repetitivas. En conjunto, este artículo describe la evolución de MySpace, sobre todo en lo que respecta a la decreciente popularidad del sitio como una tendencia actual.

Item type:	Journal article (Paginated)
Keywords:	Labor, social protocols, popularity, social networking, musician, trabajo, protocolos sociales, popularidad, redes sociales, músico.
Subjects:	B. Information use and sociology of information > BG. Information dissemination and diffusion. C. Users, literacy and reading. > CC. User categories: children, young people, social groups. E. Publishing and legal issues. > EA. Mass media. E. Publishing and legal issues. > EB. Printing, electronic publishing, broadcasting.
Depositing user:	Alex Ruiz
Date deposited:	10 Aug 2012
Last modified:	02 Oct 2014 12:23
URI:	http://hdl.handle.net/10760/17413

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