Profiling: Do you judge people on site? (This is not a typo)
Some people might not like this.
But discussing pop doesn't necessarily make you popular.
Knowing this, I present you a semi-controversial topic and want to see what my Kyles Filers think...
It's about profiling...You know, the kind that usually has "racial" in front of it. In short, it boils down to judging a person based on extraneous details, and it's usually deplorable.
That's why I have decided to come forward about some profiling I've been doing of late that just occurred to me.
And it may be one of the worst kinds. Site. Profiling.
More on that after the jump.
It started out innocently enough.
Back in the day, I developed an aversion to all things AOL because of the insane amount of discs they littered the earth with in a kind of "You Got Mail" maelstrom. Anyone with an aol after their e-mail address, I kind of questioned their cool factor.
Then, it evolved.
Despite getting on MySpace, switching up background and picking page theme songs, prejudice reared its ugly head again.
I left for Facebook, as I've posted about before, and then dubbed MySpace-- and its denizens-- as part of some kind of inferior dimension littered with glittery hearts and a really cheesy looking comment walls. When I get a mesage from MySpace, I cringe.
And a few days ago, on Twitter (which I bear no ill will toward...yet) I found myself and another of my Tweet fam laughing at another standby site: blackplanet.com. Suffice it to say, it started out as an African American online dating juggernaut and is now more like the BET of its kind: out of date and sort of a joke.
Man, my bigotry runs deep.
So I want you to do this exercise with me. I will put my answers into this post soon, but not right now, as I don't poison your mind with my preconceived notions.
Just type the first thing you think of a person when you hear they are on/affiliated with the following 10 sites.
Just copy this list and fill in the blanks with your honest thoughts.
(And yes, even as I poke fun at my poor AOL-ers, I realize Google Wavers pity my very essence.)
(1) hotmail:
(2) friendster:
(3) gmail:
(4) LinkedIn
(5) MySpace
(6) Facebook
(7) blackplanet
(8) eHarmony
(9) match.com
(10) aol.com
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46 Comments
Post Emily Post said:
(1) hotmail: hanging onto the past
(2) friendster: likely a prostitute
(3) gmail: one of my people
(4) LinkedIn: Professional networking although some people get too casual (not a good idea)
(5) MySpace: annoying auto-play
(6) Facebook: waste of time
(7) blackplanet: unfamiliar with it but your description sounds horrifying
(8) eHarmony: Christians in love
(9) match.com: eHarmony rejects in love
(10) aol.com: my in-laws
Kyra Kyles said:
Post Emily Post: Were we to be standing near each other right now, I would shake your hand heartily. Hilarious! Well played. I love the friendster one, especially.
djmikelove said:
(1) hotmail: you've had that email for a minute, huh?
(2) friendster: wtf is that?
(3) gmail: yeah, its cool that email screen name u always wanted to use isnt taken, isnt it?
(4) LinkedIn prefessional networking, huh? yeah, ok
(5) MySpace I still check my page once a day for messages, don't trip
(6) Facebook home of drama queens & recession-proof ballers
(7) blackplanet the original home of internet p***y
(8) eHarmony for white people
(9) match.com *see 8*
(10) aol.com the email address I give to rappers to send their mp3's
Kyra Kyles said:
Oh wow, #7 is pretty funny, Mr. DJ. Dang, now you told the rappers your secret. They know their music is hitting the online "circular" file. Thanks for weighing in. Hilarious!
namaste said:
(1) hotmail: dial up
(2) friendster: who?
(3) gmail:can chat online
(4) LinkedIn: professional/self promoter
(5) MySpace: media ho
(6) Facebook: likes to talk
(7) blackplanet: Malcolm X
(8) eHarmony: Older white couples
(9) match.com: irritating personality
(10) aol.com: old person who still thinks of the Internet as a dial up
Kyra Kyles said:
That's funny nobody knows what the hell friendster is. I never accept those invitations. Just plain weird. Interesting thoughts on 4, 5 and 6. And I know the matchers are coming for you because of 9. For number 10, I also hear that static sound that used to alert you that you'd reached the Interwebs. Great list, namaste!
Josh said:
(1) hotmail: Must have had that account since the days email first began.
(2) friendster: That site's still around?
(3) gmail: All the cool kids
(4) LinkedIn: Grownups who wants to be able to get another job some day.
(5) MySpace: Are they on "Glee"?
(6) Facebook: Just another one of the masses.
(7) blackplanet: Until you mentioned it I wasn't aware of its existence.
(8) eHarmony: Desperate and straight.
(9) match.com: Desperate (straight or gay)
(10) aol.com: Probably had this account from before email was invented, and thus predate the hotmail users.
Kyra Kyles said:
Hey Josh, I still get these weird friendster invites, so that site is up and running. LOL at No. 3, especially the chat. Did you really go there with No. 5? Classic. As for No. 7, maybe I shouldn't have mentioned it. Hell no on No.10. Awesome work, my friend. I expected no less.
Josh said:
I used to have a Friendster account. I actually just deleted it at the beginning of this year, after the profile sat stagnant for ages. It seems a number of your readers are familiar with #7--and it generated some funny responses--so it's good you included it.
Message from Montie said:
I think BlackPlanet should be mentioned because at one point it was "the" site to go on for African-Americans. It was equal to CollegeClub.com.
Joseph said:
1) hotmail:beginner email,lucky to find decent name
(2) friendster:who?
(3) gmail:very relevant(?)
(4) LinkedIn: business orientated/networking
(5) MySpace: shameless self promotion
(6) Facebook: keeping up with the joneses
(7) blackplanet:back in the day it was the shizz (I'm dating myself)hook-ups
(8) eHarmony:last straw
(9) match.com:same as above
(10) aol.com:wow....retro?
Kyra Kyles said:
Hi Joseph:
Very funny, especially like your No. 7, 8, 9 responses. Now,
aol.com, you make it sound kinda cool...Vintage or outdated?
Joseph said:
retro as dated...I had SOOOOO many of those d@mn disc coming in the mail..dial-up no less!
Papa MaC said:
(1) hotmail: It's free, easy to use and POP3's (sync's) well with most phones. I have no ill opinion of hotmail users, partly because I am one.
(2) friendster: Sounds corny and apparently pre-dates my online lifetime.
(3) gmail: Trendy and Macintosh-ish. Unnecessary.
(4) LinkedIn: I would imagine if enough people use it then it can be beneficial for the working professional to some extent. I prefer direct contact when it comes to business, though.
(5) MySpace: The more 'friends' and sparkles you have, the less credible your intelligence appears.
(6) Facebook: Straight-forward and popular enough to make sense. I tend to use my Facebook for the same purpose as I use MySpace; to keep in contact with friends and family I don't have the time to see or speak to on a regular basis, but don't want to lose touch with.
(7) blackplanet: Never cared to try it.
(8) eHarmony: I don't have a negative opinion of those who use internet dating websites. I'm not interested in using them myself but I do have friends with mixed experiences with them.
(9) match.com: Same as previous.
(10) aol.com: The medium that introduced me to all that is internet; Instant messaging is convenient, easy to use and is free. The chat rooms can be quite entertaining at times, as long as you don't waste all your time in them. When I have people in their 50's giving me AOL email addresses for business purposes (it has happened, sadly) I definitely question their technical abilities. AOL doesn't offer anything you cannot easily achieve with the software that comes with your computer, other than the social connections. With an AOL email, it is obvious you are an avid internet chatter.
P.S. I didn't know much of anything about computers or the internet until I was 17 (in 2002).
Kyra Kyles said:
Papa MaC, always so fair and diplomatic. I admire you. I don't know when or where friendster hails from, but dammit, I wish these people would stop sending me invites. Wish I had no knowledge of that annoying site either. Seems like a failed Facebook.
Message from Montie said:
I disagree about the AOL comment. I never do the Internet chatting. I just like the way they handle spam. This is why I refuse to give it up.
Ian O'Dea said:
(1) hotmail: I just came to check my spam email... Oh, there's a funny subject line!
(2) friendster: What? Really? Do you doff your hat every time you pass a woman on the street? (full disclosure: When I am paying attention, I do this)
(3) gmail: Unless your email address is something like xXx_HoTbAbYgUrL_xXx@gmail.com, fairly standard, professional
(4) LinkedIn: Professional, if a bit stiff
(5) MySpace: Oh hey, took a wrong turn. Where AREN'T the 13 year old girls?
(6) Facebook: Please don't invite me to your mafia, wolf-pack, vampire coven, restaurant, or farm. Just... don't.
(7) blackplanet: This literally makes me as uncomfortable as watching the BET video for "Read a Book"
(8) eHarmony: Oh, hey, maybe you should join us in the 21st century; we don't outright turn down the LGBT community anymore.
(9) match.com: Sorry, I don't want to pay to be turned down by people I've never met, thank you
(10) aol.com: How do you still support yourself, and why does everybody else make a better client for your own most popular service?
Kyra Kyles said:
Yeah, Ian! Great answers. I love No. 1, No. 5, No. 6 and especially No. 9/10. Thanks for the comment. Do come back often!
Josh said:
Good answers, and excellent question in #10. I can't remember the last time I used the official AIM client...it's stunk for years!
Message from Montie said:
I'm cracking up at number 5. I never saw the "Read a Book" video, but I used to blast that song. He contacted me to inteview him when I worked at the Defender, but the new songs weren't as good.
silkysoul said:
(1) hotmail: generic email dump for spammers;
(2) friendster: I must've skipped that fad;
(3) gmail: trendy email depot for the informed, apparently;
(4) LinkedIn: suit-n-tie networking spot for serious business types, leaving the rest of us with a profile wondering if we will ever get work from this exposure;
(5) MySpace: McPlayPlace for teens and adults who want to pimp their profile page;
(6) Facebook: upscale networking site for grown folks...who want to be in the virtual mafia, start a virtual restaurant, cultivate a virtual farm....oh, and keep up with their former college buds;
(7) blackplanet: medival networking spot popular in the 90s but outpaced by even MySpace;
(8) eHarmony: formulaic profile service used by singles wanting to "catch the vapors";
(9) match.com: swap-meet profile service used by singles wanting to "catch the vapors";
(10) aol.com: grandaddy of surfing sites with proprietary content before internet sites became all the rage;
Kyra Kyles said:
Hi silkysoul, I think that everyone skipped the friendster fad. Loving your No.6 answer, especially and the No. 4. Great point on LinkedIn. I still haven't figured that site out. Thanks for commenting!
ErikaNicole said:
OK. I'll admit it. I'm the worst site bigot of them all. Here goes...
(1) hotmail: Why do I still have this account...and why are all the porn spammers IM'ing me? NO ma'am, I will not check out your site.
(2) friendster: What are you 12?
(3) gmail: Where the cool kids are...are you riding the WAVE? If not, you should try and keep up? I mean, this IS 2009.
(4) LinkedIn: Should I post that? Maybe not? Too many recruiters. Remove picture, never update status during work hours, check posts for typos...again...and again...ah forget it. SERIOUS NETWORKING ONLY.
(5) MySpace: Everyone here is a rock star huh? So you have a band you say? And you're a model? How nice? And you, well you're just strange....AHHHH why does your page keep crashing my computer!? Is this butterfly that IMPORTANT to you? Why is your page raining explicit's? Hello? GET ME OUTTA HERE!
(6) Facebook: Pretty decent until recently when the under-sexed Myspace'ers decided to join us in the 21st century. I think I'll go stealth soon. Just way to many randoms....But otherwise...it's where the cool kids meet, greet and hang.
(7) blackplanet = the sex personals on Craigs list...need I say more?
(8) eHarmony: I've never used it, but I hear there's a lot of fake profiles and men who drive pick-up trucks. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
(9) match.com: Please see #8
(10) aol.com: the originator. But hearing "you've got mail" was no where near as cool as hearing "YAHOOOOOOO" so that ended that...
Did you intentionally omit Twitter?
Kyra Kyles said:
Hoooray! My Twitter fam made it over to the Kyles Files. Excellent. And with extremely funny responses, too. No. 7 is the best description of blackplanet ever. I didn't intentionally omit Twitter, but write-ins are welcome. I'm going to put my responses to each site below now that the discussion is bubbling.
Kyra Kyles said:
(1) hotmail: The opposite of hot at this point. At least do yahoo.
(2) friendster: Stop sending your annoying invites, or we will NEVER be friends. EVER.
(3) gmail: Chat mode is cool, but e-mail set-up confusing. Rather yahoo it.
(4) LinkedIn Not quite sure what to make of this stodgy version of Facebook, and based on the interactions I've seen in there, not too many users know what they're doing either.
(5) MySpace Get your glittery, postcard-loving, old theme song-playing arse outta here unless you are a musician. To quote Ed Lover, "c'mon, son!"
(6) Facebook: Fun, but getting cluttered and conquered by the old guard MySpacers. Please don't turn this spot into a tacky sequel.
(7) blackplanet Puh-leaze. Online truck stop, much?
(8) eHarmony Annoying old man with a lot of questions and a commercial that won't quit.
(9) match.com No thanks.
(10) aol.com You've got(ancient) mail. Upgrade or be deleted.
nixmoon said:
1) hotmail: new to emailing
(2) friendster: Hoping the person sending me invites chokes on some Cap'n Crunch (I kid, but I'm serious)
(3) gmail: More work than I want to do
(4) LinkedIn: I've been 50% complete for like 5 mos now. What else do they want from me?
(5) MySpace Ha ha ha....ha ha ha! You mean MyStreet? This has become a streetwalkers dream site and its free!
(6) Facebook Once you eliminate the freaks and geeks; it is cool
(7) blackplanet A pole swingers delight. Oops I forgot, those are models
(8) eHarmony Is the dating scene really that bad?
(9) match.com same as above
(10) aol.com I didn't even know this email still existed almost like having prodigy or netzero.
Kyra Kyles said:
I knew nixmoon would bring it...and then some. Your No. 5 made me laugh out loud, as did No.7 (And no, they're not models.) AOL=LOL....you didn't know it was still around? You've got mail, Nixmoon. Thanks for the comments!
Dave Sorrell said:
(1) hotmail: (My "professional" email that I've kept for 6 years now).
(2) friendster: (the deuce is this? No se comprende)
(3) gmail: (lived it, loved it, keeping it. Its badass)
(4) LinkedIn (A more professional facebook)
(5) MySpace (Instant booty call, FTW!)
(6) Facebook (I have had it for almost 5 years, I'm glad I kept it, and its far superior than Myspace)
(7) blackplanet (The BET of Dating, as you noted)
(8) eHarmony (Nothing harmonious, in fact I know Dating sucks, that may take the cake)
(9) match.com (See above. Its a match made in hell)
(10) aol.com (I thought they got rid of those AIM chat pages back in 2005, and the email addresses are obsolete)
Kyra Kyles said:
Hey Dave: Thanks for coming through. Damn, friendster made you switch into Spanish? Love answers No. 5, No.8 and nope, for No. 10, aol is alive and kicking. One of my RedEye buddies is a devoted aol-er, in fact.
Message from Montie said:
Your RedEye buddy is VERY smart. I wish I could get some mail right now so I can hear the heavenly "bing" noise of new mail.
Kyra Kyles said:
Ha ha ha! You. Got. Mail. Montie.
Ryan Kiefer said:
I tried not to look as I scrolled to the bottom but I fear my answers may have already been tainted.
(1) hotmail: Someone who has likely just discovered the Internet and doesn't know any better.
(2) friendster: What-ster? Probably for someone more geeky than I. Seems very fad-ish.
(3) gmail: Someone who wants to look cool by getting a tech-savvy email. Like myself. (I have 3.)
(4) LinkedIn: Like Facebook for businesses, without all of the embarrassing drunk photos. For people who care about how they look online.
(5) MySpace: For people who gave up how they look online. Also, the internet home of cyber stalkers and pedophiles (excluding 4chan, of course.)
(6) Facebook: What everyone uses. Period. Used to be the cool college online hangout but now... not so much. Sorry mom.
(7) blackplanet: I have no idea what this is.
(8) eHarmony: For those who have been shooed out of all local clubs because they were too weird.
(9) match.com: See above.
(10) aol.com: People still use this? See the entry on Hotmail.
Also, (11) Twitter: Home of the coolest people on the planet. Also, home of me.
Shinda said:
(1) hotmail: just wanted an email account just to have one
(2) friendster: *blank stare*
(3) gmail: appreciates the internet
(4) LinkedIn: generalist
(5) MySpace: *blank stare*
(6) Facebook: responsible
(7) blackplanet: web/Internet squatter
(8) eHarmony: cloning
(9) match.com: eHarmony knock off, cloning nonetheless
(10) aol.com: smdh
Kyra Kyles said:
Hey Shinda! Blank stare on friendster? Am I the ONLY one getting these invites? Maybe it's just one guy pretending to have a social site. MySpace blanks you out too? Good! Thanks so much for the comments. You guys are killing me. What fun!
Kyra Kyles said:
Aww yeah, Ryan in the house. No. 1 made me laugh out loud. I imagine a Geico caveman opening his "new" account. Dang, you've got three g-mails? I need to catch up. Only two so far. Terrific point on the difference between LinkedIn and MySpace. Fresh insight. Great! You don't need to know what blackplanet is...nobody should and no you did not say that MySpace was home to pedophiles. Where's "To Catch a Predator" when we need them? Thanks for weighing in!
Ryan Kiefer said:
When I was on MySpace as a teen I got oh so many friend requests from people who were clearly 40+. That's the reason I left MySpace.
Kyra Kyles said:
Good call, Ryan.
Ryan Kiefer said:
Also, surprised that no one really caught my casual insult of 4chan. Because you never want to straight-out insult 4chan. Because they will come after you.
BeccaLynn said:
hotmail: 1996
friendster: 1998,
gmail: 2010,
linkedin: Professional
Myspace: skanky hook ups
FB: an acceptable work past time
Blackplanet: too many dudes wantin to be my friend when i dont even have a pic up
Eharmony - a sham
match.com me and my boo,
aol - dial up
Kyra Kyles said:
Love the timeline, BeccaLynn...Dang, the guys were getting after you with no pic? Hilarious. Why is eHarmony a sham?
Josh said:
OK people, here's the 4-1-1 (do people still say that? I feel I'm revealing myself as being tragically unhip) on friendster:
It was a precursor to myspace and facebook. It had a lot of the same functionality, but was (in the beginning) much less customizable so you didn't end up with pages that made your eyes bleed and ears explode a la myspace. It was semi-popular among Internet early adopters, in the early 00's (God now I'm aging myself!). The people that first IM'd on ICQ probably had a friendster profile at one point or another. However, as myspace and then facebook took off, friendster couldn't figure out how to stay relevant and most Americans abandoned it either by letting their profiles go idle or just deleting their accounts--but it's apparently still big in Asia.
As a special bonus FYI, there was another site founded by a google engineer and still run quietly by google called orkut. Few people here got on board (possibly because it was really buggy when it launched) but it's pretty big in Brazil.
And there you have it. BTW I'm a software engineer by day so I have some excuse for being such a nerd. :)
Kyra Kyles said:
Thank you so much for giving us the info on friendster. I seriously had no idea where it came from and what the heck it was doing still inviting me to befriend it. Appreciate it, and you are not unhip....but you certainly are smart.
Ryan Kiefer said:
Thanks for the education on what Friendster is. Also, I'd heard of Orkut before but hadn't previously really looked into it. It's actually really interesting.
Message from Montie said:
Thank you for the explanation. I don't recall getting more than one request on Friendster ever, but I didn't know what it was.
Message from Montie said:
(1) hotmail: When Hotmail went into this Windows type site and changed their look, I hated it and left. They are too sensitive with SPAM too.
(2) friendster: I don't pay any attention to it nor do I have interest in finding out.
(3) gmail: It's easier to do trigonometry than it is to close an account or change preferences. I hate Gmail.
(4) LinkedIn: Too clickish. The conversations in the forums are mindless and all sound disgruntled or about computer tricks. Bored out of my mind.
(5) MySpace: I have closed at least eight MySpace accounts. For years, my article on MySpace Customer Service has been first on Google. I'm tired of folks stalking me to listen to their mediocre raps, call me "ma" or ask me "u gt a mn shwdy" or say "So tell me something about yourself" like my entire page doesn't do it. I finally left there for good earlier this year after I'd made my page private, nonfriends couldn't contact me, and deleted half my friends. It was no reason for me to even be there.
(6) Facebook: I thought MySpace was better a few years ago before it got all high school on me. But when I worked for the Chicago Defender and being assigned to create a Facebook page made me have to pay more attention to the site again, and I actually like it a lot nowadays.
(7) blackplanet: I dated a guy who I met on BlackPlanet.com. After we met, we wanted to monitor who's page I was on and for how long. That dude turned me completely off of BlackPlanet. But BlackPlanet is the worst version of MySpace up until recently when default pics could no longer be penises and vaginas.
(8) eHarmony: I don't do online dating anymore. It was fun the year after I graduated from college, but I had too many Online Dating Nightmares.
(9) match.com: (copy and paste) I don't do online dating anymore. It was fun the year after I graduated from college, but I had too many Online Dating Nigthtmares.
(10) aol.com: I think it's some byool-ish that the only way to use customer service is to subscribe to their Internet service. That's ridiculous, and they don't cover certain areas. I dropped their dial-up service way after it was cool to do so, but I kept the AOL address no matter how many co-workers at a previous job (Kaplan Financial) made fun of me for it. AOL is perfect for me. They monitor SPAM much better than other email sites. I like the way my email is set up and the folders, but that contact save thing is annoying. But I've had an AOL address for about nine years and probably always will.
Kyra Kyles said:
Thanks so much for the comment, Miss Montie. I will click on your Dating Nightmares to see what went down. I am intrigued. And good for you, standing up for AOL.
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