Your place or Myspace?

 Set your grey knowledge sponges back to a simpler time. The country was run by one man and not two buffoons, petrol didn't cost the price of a small semi in Essex and a band from the Warrel, England called 'The Seal Cub Clubbing Club' launched them selves into the public eye. For those of you still in the dark like a trainee chef locked in the walk in freezer or, and I wince at this, are to young to remember it was in fact 2003. I was working in a completely dull and somewhat pointless job in a magazine and news paper sorting depo. Sending out misplaced mag's and papers to shops that would eventually send them to a returns department when they didn't sell (I had also worked there). Across the pond a new website was about to be set free into the mysterious and wonderful world of the inter-web. Myspace, and it was all about being yourself. Design your page, add a photo and get all your mates to sign up and message and laugh and post witty comments and oh the fun we had like crazy internet fools. It was like a big bloody phone chat that you didn't need to stay in for but with pic's of drunks and glitter writing. You could even have a Myspace for your band, and we did. You could upload your dodge rehearsal room recordings to inflict on anyone who had the misfortune to venture on to your space. For awhile this was great, I would spend hours and hours looking for new and exciting backgrounds or layouts. I used to write blogs almost daily and in the hight of our time I had over a hundred readers a week. Which is no mean feat in this day and age when you can't take a breath without having to read someone's theory on how bad it is for you. But all this was about to fall apart like a shoddy built house of cards. A new social network site had arrived and it was building a reputation fast. Facebook was marketed on its simplicity, gone where the eye bleeding, badly made layouts and backgrounds that any spotty gimp could build. With Facebook everyone's page looked the same, a simple blue and white interface. It was all about status's and comments and Facebook was poaching Myspace users by the bucket load everyday. Myspace tried to stop this by changing its homepage layout over and over again to the point where every time you signed in you would have to learn how to use it all again. I still have my Myspace but rarely use it, it has changed beyond all recognition. Its now like being hit in the face by a load of misplaced fonts. The whole thing feels like the good people at Myspace have let the new guy have a go at designing while they go out for a fag. I look back at my Myspace years like a hazy summer flash back from an over mushy TV movie. They where great times and we were the true kings of the social network.