At the complete risk of sounding like a total dork I love my social networks. At 29 years old and “spoken for” social networking goes way beyond meeting cute boys and spying on the skanks that he’s probably hooking up with. At my age it’s for spying on people that I went to high school with and comparing their level of success to mine (and to also see if they’ve grown fat or bald). You see, for those of us on the cusp of Gen X/Y having a cute profile page with fun pictures is the equivalent of having a neatly manicured lawn for our parents’ generation. It’s just a healthy way to let the outside world know that we’re doing just fine.

Up until about two weeks ago MySpace was my go-to social network…and then I jumped the shark to Facebook. I realize I’m way beyond the curve here. People have been doing this long enough for the “cool kids” to proclaim that Facebook is already “soooo over.” That probably has something to do with the fact that I’m on there with all my fat and balding (yet moderately successful) high school friends, but I don’t’ care. I don’t have anything to prove.

I tell you who does have something to prove. MySpace.

MySpace wants to get back on top and according to a seemingly desperate Peter Levinsohn, president of Fox Interactive Media, the unit that owns MySpace, they’ve got a few tricks up their sleeve. One is an ad function called “interest targeting.” It’s basically a series of complex algorithms that categorizes users based on their interests and then serves them up targeted ads based on said interests…blah, blah blah. Sure it’s cool, but seems like something that should have happened back in 2005 along with other applications that would have pushed the needle in terms of a user experience. I guess what I’m getting at is that it seems like MySpace rested easy on its giant laurels totally content with being the biggest social network in the world. What MySpace didn’t realize is that in 2007 social networking for social networking’s sake won’t be enough for users. We want fun.

I’m a Level 27 Pirate Vixen on Facebook. My evil pirate army is growing every day. Sure, it’s a silly game, but I love it. I talk about it with my friends. I brag because I’m the highest ranked Facebook pirate out of anyone I know. Another silly example of pointless Facebook fun; the other day my fiancé bought me a Golden Buddah statue and posted it on my profile page. He paid $1 and wrote a nice note for all the world to see. It’s trivial and simple, but it made my day.

Alls I’m saying is MySpace should take note before they find themselves in Friendster’s fate…

Dear Hell Pizza in Christchurch, New Zealand,

Sorry, but you don’t get to use Hitler in your ads. Let’s get beyond the obvious fact that they’re odd and incredibly offensive…what the hell does Hitler know about good pizza??? If Hitler is pushing slices I’m going to guess that it probably tastes something like a mix between cardboard and rat poison. Just a guess…

Story here.

Just the coolest thing we’ve ever seen. I wonder if they make prom dresses…
Condom Fashion Show