ReveNews
MySpace Gets A Big Brother - Spy On Your Kids
Last month I wrote about why MySpace is going to fail in three-years or less. One of the reasons I gave was below:
5. The narcs will move in. Already many groups are lining up to “get a piece” of the Myspace bandwagon. Some are simply watching and reporting, while others are beginning to think up ways of “keeping tabs” of users inside the network. Eventually, an automated system will be devised by an outside third-party that will monitor Myspace and bring back reports to interested parties. Imagine a parent being able to snoop on their child. Or a school system monitoring a roll call of students, or troubled students. Private organizations will begin charging private citizens to “research” Myspace users and content.
Well, today that is coming true. Introducing MySpaceWatch.com, courtesy of the Blog Herald.
myspaceWatch.com is a service that allows you to monitor login activity, track profile changes, and keep a running history of up to 3 myspace.com profiles. Are you a parent who banned your child from myspace only to see that they keep logging on, or keeping multiple accounts? Is your significant other living a double life? We keep track and monitor activity so you don’t have to. We also don’t ask for any of your personal information.
So there you have it. Now you can spy on your children. The question is, will this be a deterrent for MySpace users over time? Will your teen start to think about what they are posting in “thier space” if they think that thier parents can see what they’ve written?
I argue that yes, it will in fact be the first ripple in the slow demise of MySpace (even though I think the monitoring service is a good, good thing). And when I say slow demise, I don’t mean death. I mean curbing the HUGE growth that MySpace inhibits as of today. Of course it’s not going to kill it completely.
Which prediction will come next? Will you watch your kids? Should this be allowed? And on the flip side, how can you create a pay service off of someone else’s brand? Why would MySpace allow this?
Based on the origin of MySpace and its official concerns about content, I doubt they will oppose the snoop service. I like the idea of MySpace even though the designs are often pretty ugly. I’ve banned my teen-age son from the service, though. He got announcements from “potential friends,” including offers of intimacy I’d rather he not receive. No, they don’t have his phone or address. He just doesn’t need to see that. MySpace does have its faults, including the availability of a survey about which suicide attempt you favor. Hard to tell if MySpace promotes that “neat” tool. But it’s certainly shows up in the content one way or another. My son’s teachers this week all got MySpace accounts to check in on all of their students. One teacher in particular took class time to preach about its evils and how its a haven for predators. I liked my son’s MySpace, just not the crud that surrounds it. Maybe when he’s 18 he can access other parts of the Internet, like email that keeps out the porn.
“The question is, will this be a deterrent for MySpace users over time?”
I would say no. Kids are pretty slick. Can have different myspace profiles, this generation can probably run circles around their parents (computer wise) and get around any snooping defice they setup. Hell, it might actually help MySpace. Back in the day didn’t a lot of parents say Rock & Roll is bad, didn’t want their kids listening and dancing. Kids that age tend to be a little rebellious. Reminds me of a South Park episode where the parents figured out that instead of disliking something their kids are into, start liking it, make it uncool. Maybe all the parents should sign up and tell their kids how cool it is
Mark my word, MySpaceWatch.com is going to get nuked over trademark issues; just watch. They might get away with it if they were reporting Myspace news, but not if they are selling a service with the MySpace name.
I’m 18 years old and have a MySpace account to keep my family and close friends updated on myself and comminicate while I’m away at college. There’s nothing on my profile I would hesitate to show anybody. I do know people who would squirm at the thought of authority figures viewing their profile’s content. MySpaceWatch.com will not Kill MySpace - it will only weed out users who are on MySpace for reasons they would rather authority (parents, teachers, employers…) not know about.