The days of one-stop networking sites appear to be numbered. It’s simply not cool to share the same space (especially online) with mom, dad – even grandma and grandpa. Ben’s to visit friends with a case of Miller High Life in tow.įacebook is beginning to suffer a similar fate to Myspace, acting as a place warmer, especially with younger generations. In viewing my profile (it still exists), I am frozen at 27, living in Chicago, enjoying The Format and forevermore, heading out to St. However, I, like most others, abandoned Myspace for Facebook. I liked its capacity as a living scrapbook, where I kept track of music, photos, the occasional blog and my friends. They named it “Mama Kolo” (kolo means ass in Greek) and declared they would take it down when I put up a legitimate profile. They created a profile using my information alongside a horrendous photo of two women with the largest asses I’ve ever seen.

I didn’t get it, so I didn’t bother, but my friends had other ideas. I had just returned to America after spending a couple years abroad and Myspace was the big thing. When I was 26, my friends coerced me into creating a Myspace account. Mostly though, I wonder how much time people are now spending on social networking. With 73% of adults online using a social networking site (71% use Facebook), I think about the active audience for each site in addition to how each site is utilized. There is a dizzying array of websites/applications for anyone wishing to date, keep up with news, diet, share an interest, create a virtual photo album, further their career, stay current with the latest trends… These are just a few venues in a rapidly diversifying online sphere, each vying for your use. This evolution has been weighing heavily on my mind, as the reverse is trending online with social networking users gravitating from centralized services like Facebook and Google+ toward fragmented sites that focus mainly on one service, such as Twitter and Instagram. Stores that offered one-stop shopping began to replace all those specialty shops. Yet, as time marched on, time itself became a commodity. There was a period (and it wasn’t long ago) when people sought out specialized services, making separate trips to the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker, et al. The candy would take up all the space on either side of my mouth and for the duration mom and I were out, I would happily work my way through the giant, disc-shaped bundle of sugar. She’d give me a quarter and while she ordered, I would turn the crank on one of the candy vending machines, cupping my hand by the chute to catch a Bleep Blip. Hand in hand, we’d walk into the local butcher shop. Living in New York as a very young girl, I have fond memories of running errands with my mom.

Bleep blip candy