Social Networks
It has been stated that online social networks have come to define the modern Internet experience.
BlackPlanet, as a precursor to Facebook and Myspace, has gone some way to influencing the internet as users recognise it. Before today's popular networks allowed you to "like" posts, "poke" crushes, or "retweet" celebrities, web-savvy African Americans were connecting on BlackPlanet.
Wasow himself has stated;
| “ | The guys who started Myspace were quoted in Business Week magazine saying that they looked at BlackPlanet as a model for Myspace and thought there was an opportunity to do a general market version of what BlackPlanet was. | ” |
As of June 2007 BlackPlanet had 16.5 million members and 80 million page views Described as the largest online media entity for African Americans and 'the grand daddy of social-networking sites', BlackPlanet enjoyed more than 6 million unique visitors a month in April 2008. In 2007, BlackPlanet found itself to be the fourth most popular social networking tool on the internet, but with the vast increase in Facebook, Twitter and MySpace usage, BlackPlanet fails to gain recognition in the top 15 social networks according to eBizMBA, in March 2011, leading critics to suggest that 'BlackPlanet has fallen to the wayside as other networks have taken the social network mantle.' List of social networking websites
BlackPlanet utilises other social networking tools such as Twitter and Facebook in order to reach new and potential users. Its Twitter feed is updated on a near daily basis, commenting and highlighting points of interest to the black community. Recent tweets include ‘83% of BP voters think non-Black rappers shouldn't use the #nword... what do you think about that?’ and ‘Weave secrets revealed. Go from drab to fab in 5 minutes.’ The BlackPlanet Twitter feed is also used to post announcements and updates regarding the BlackPlanet site itself. Wider political issues are also mentioned including ‘What will you do #ifgovernmentshutsdown ?’
The BlackPlanet Facebook page is used to encourage discussion of issues both directly and indirectly applicable to its community of African American users. The Facebook status update feature is used to ask questions to the page followers, and is well responded to in general. Questions have included 'What do you think of the idea of Black Marriage Day?’, ‘What do you think of people using the term "ghetto" when describing something that's not desirable?’ And ‘Men, do you ever pamper yourself with a gentleman's facial, manicure or pedicure? Ladies, what do you think of men who take care of their skin and nails?’
Both social networking tools are used to advertise the ‘Member of the Day’ feature, drawing attention to the appearance of the chosen member. Accompanying a link to the member’s profile is a short comment such as ‘She's beautiful, she's single, she's our member of the day. Check her out’ and ‘Still need proof that we have the prettiest members on the planet? You're welcome.’
Read more about this topic: Black Planet
Famous quotes containing the words social and/or networks:
“Let us hope ... that by the best cultivation of the physical world, beneath and around us; and the intellectual and moral world within us, we shall secure an individual, social and political prosperity and happiness, whose course shall be onward and upward, and which, while the earth endures, shall not pass away.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)
“The community and family networks which helped sustain earlier generations have become scarcer for growing numbers of young parents. Those who lack links to these traditional sources of support are hard-pressed to find other resources, given the emphasis in our society on providing treatment services, rather than preventive services and support for health maintenance and well-being.”
—Bernice Weissbourd (20th century)