I really do think about things other than Project Runway and MySpace… and I promise a meaningful and intellectual post soon, but for now, have you seen What if God had a MySpace?

(Lazily cross-posted over at my blog.)

As previously stated, I don’t pay nearly as much attention to library-related issues and news as I used to. Part of this is due to the fact that I now work in a private, school library instead of a public one, and am thus insulated from either dealing with the public or paying attention to issues that affect how the public is served. The other main reason is my firm belief that I simply can’t summon the energy to fake any interest in pointless, meaningless marketing terms that serve no purpose other than to voice a desperate wish (never to be fulfilled) on the part of librarians to appear hip.

But I digress. Every once in awhile, an issue comes along that manages to pierce even my mighty protective wall of self-interest, and as usual with these things, it was the always helpful Notorious BCK who brought it to my attention. The oh-so-appropriately named DOPA, the more cruel and idiotic inbred cousin to 2003’s CIPA, passed the US House on July 27th by a vote of 410-15. While CIPA forced libraries to install filters as a condition of retaining their E-Rate funding, DOPA goes even further, forcing libraries to block access to chat rooms and social networking sites such as blogs, MySpace, and Flickr. Further, it explicitly places the FCC in charge of screening and evaluating wholly lawful internet content.

Since the furor over the passage of this mindbendingly idiotic bill has been swift, widespread, and severe, I won’t bother rehashing it. (Click the links if you are actually unsure just what kind of Orwellian clusterfuck the House has just voted to foist upon us.) Besides, for my money, the ZenFormation Professional most succinctly summed up the entire debate, and in one sentence, no less:

Now this is some truly scary “let’s get those seniors and soccer moms all paranoid before the midterm elections” shit.

This atrocious bill has not yet become the law of the land; it still needs to pass the Senate before that happens. However, lest any of you out there are clinging to the desperate hope that the Senate might conceivably exercise a modicum of sanity that the House so clearly lacks, please keep in mind that the committee in charge of regulating the internet is run by this guy.

I just posted this on MySpace as well.

———

I wrote and submitted my first draft on my MySpace study this weekend, and already received comments back from my professor, the sum of which amounted to “That sounds good. Go right ahead. Very interesting.” Ha. I don’t think he gets it at all.

To extend the draft, I did a fair amount of reading yesterday for the lit review portion, which consists mainly of danah boyd’s work, a few other papers on social networking at large, and a few articles on the great MySpace scare of ‘06.

I think the research has gone to my grey matter. Like some sort of recursive joke played by my brain, last night I had a dream where someone new in my life, whom I’ve been spending a great amount of time with, added me to her top 8. And in my dream it meant something.

What is ridiculous about this is it stems not from any actual desire to be added to her top 8, but from a previous dating experience, where the girl obsessed about her top 8, ranking all of her friends by order of importance to her, pubicly articulating her preferences. This caused me some anxiety, because now everyone could see where I ranked in her life. I could tell, just from a glance at her MySpace page, if I was doing well, or if there were others ahead of me. Not that I was in competition with other men. But there is a difference in top 8 behavior amongst “boyfriends,” those you are dating, and those you have simply been out with, so I could glean something about her feelings. Frankly, I would have rather she never added me to her top 8, because once added suddenly I was in a competition I never wanted to be in. Lame.

Anyway, I told D about my dream this morning, and as some sort of sick joke, she added me to her top 8. Thankfully, she could give a shit about the top 8, so I’m spared any sort of anxiety. It’s just a laugh now.

But this brings up bigger issues, doesn’t it? Top 8 means something; when people formulate their top 8, there is a methodology to their processes, and they think through it. Who is important to me? Why is this person important? What can I gain from making a public connection to this person? Will this person top 8 in me in turn? Special status is given to special people: “best friends,” partners, boyfriends, girlfriends, spouses, family members.

People stopping by a profile for the first time might look at the top 8, or even the top 1 or 2, and try to discern from that who the REALLY important people are to this person. “Is number one a boyfriend? Does that match the relationship status? Does the other person feel the same way?”

Those who don’t play by the top 8 rules very often fall into one of two camps: 1) They simply don’t care and never change their top 8, accepting whoever lands there; 2) Those who, in an act of defiance (sometimes blogged or bulletined about), use arbitrary criteria for selecting their top 8, perhaps putting only bands or fakesters (an old friendster term) in the top spots.

What is also interesting is when people make explicit reference to their omission from, or request they be placed in, the top 8. The status the top 8 brings means so much that they’ll actually request placement, rather than accept the natural order of things, or try to jockey for top 8 position through political maneuvering, (profile comments, picture comments, blog comments, etc.)

What does top 8 status get you? Esteem in the eyes of others by being affiliated with the person putting you in the top 8. It’s the high school popularity contest all over again, though with a limited number of spots. Now, only if we could aggregate top 8 number across the entire social network or within limited social circles (something like vizster, but with a focus on top 8 people). That would be interesting (and telling). Are connectors (those with a disproportionately high number of legitimate contacts) also top 8 worthy? (Meaning, do those people who have a high rate of top 8 placement also have a high number of friends?)

These are things I think about. There’s enough material in MySpace for several books, I swear to God.