tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-196496542011-04-21T13:08:45.267-07:00Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12528142594447810829noreply@blogger.comBlogger11100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19649654.post-1133935185858002692005-12-06T21:59:00.000-08:002005-12-07T21:50:05.366-08:00<a href="http://www.myspace.com">Myspace</a> is an interesting community because it allows individuals to foster both strong ties and weak ties (Granovetter).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Weak ties</span><br /><br />Weak ties can be very useful for the aspiring musician. They allow the musician to reach audiences not possible before and gain exposure in groups that normally wouldn't be aware of him.<br /><br />Myspace is the perfect medium for fostering these weak ties. The <a href="http://search.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=find">search functions</a> allow a filtering of potential friends based on a variety of categories including subjects, location, name, and a variety of useful fields. This allows a musician to friend people who he would normally not be exposed to, possibly developing the relationship into something in the physical world.<br /><br />Additionally, users can browse their network, meeting people connected to them by 1, 2, or 10,000 steps. All of this creates endless possibilities for establishing new, beneficial ties with individuals who wouldn't otherwise have any knowledge of a musician or band.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Strong ties</span><br /><br />On the other hand, Myspace allows for the continuation and development of strong ties. Strong ties are associated with friends, most likely established in the physical world. Myspace is a logical extension of the physical world.<br /><br />Messages and message boards allow a user to keep up with friends whom he has a strong enough connection to, while blogs on each profile allow a user to keep his friends up to date with whats going on in his life. Specific settings allow a user to only allow specific friends to read blog posts.<br /><br />Most friends that a user keeps in contact with are strong ties from the physical world.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/19649654-113393518585800269?l=communityweakties.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12528142594447810829noreply@blogger.com