Is Twitter The New MySpace?

Some articles came out today speculating on whether Twitter is going to suffer the same fate as MySpace and be relegated to a second tier status. This seems odd considering Twitter's overnight explosion into a genuine cultural phenomenon, but maybe that's the problem. Social networking has become one of the most important modes of communication in the 21st century. Even parents, and teachers are now friend requesting their embarrassed offspring. The problem is that Twitter like MySpace has grown into a multi-use platform it was never meant to be, and sooner or later the bubble will burst. If stops being a good communication tool, then what's the point? A few short years ago, a litany of voices that came at you quicker than a tsunami were insisting you get on MySpace. Social networks were nothing new, as Friendster had been around since the mid-nineties, but for some reason MySpace caught on like a brush fire (but with porn spam.) The reason is probably the ease of the interface and that you could essentially create your own web page (we are nothing if not narcissistic.) People began blogging, messaging, putting up videos, etc. Very quickly, however, people realized that MySpace could be used to sell products (and sex), and MySpace happily obliged. Myspace Music, MySpace Film, MySpace everything went up almost overnight. Soon the social networking aspect began to play second fiddle to the other functions of the site. Quickly MySpace was overcome by competitor Facebook. The there was Twitter, which streamlined the whole process of social communication to a 120 word blurb. It was similar to the status updates on MySpace and Facebook only without all the extraneous garbage. This was a relief to many who had gotten tired of the other sites bombastic nature. Then something happened to Twitter. It became a news ticker giving us up to the second updates on everything from the Iranian election to human ass-chigger Perez Hilton's fight with Black Eyed Peas Will.I.am. Celebrities began using Twitter as a platform to promote themselves and yammer on about whatever entered their puny little brains. Even Sarah Palin got in on the action tweeting like a madwoman (ironic.) The question then becomes, if Twitter is only a podium from which people can shout out at the echo chamber of the Internet, then what is the point of being on there? People cannot communicate adequately if only one party is doing all the talking. Wouldn't you rather find out what your buddy out in LA is doing then hear what Ashton Kutcher thinks about dog food, or whatever?

Myspace Is To Facebook As Twitter Is To ____ (Cody Brown) Twitter's Cyber Ghetto (Valleywag)