Make Space for MySpace

About ten years ago, the modern incarnation of reality television hit the airwaves, lead, most notably by Survivor. There were others. Big Brother with its bland first season that let viewers vote off members retooled itself in the Survivor vein, and has expanded into several other countries (indeed, I don't think it originated in the U.S.). Since then, there's been a plethora of reality shows and also game shows.

These programs are noted for being cheap to produce, the contestants can be given a fraction of what a typical star on Friends made, and still be very happy. Where reality TV shows have generally failed is in reruns, but since it's so cheap to make, people keep churning them out.

Reality TV shows also reflect a growing trend in the American public--to be noticed. Orwell predicted Big Brother would look over you and you would lack privacy. These days, people don't want that privacy. They want to be celebrities.

And this ties in to the desire among those in high school to be popular. Not everyone was popular, but enough people cared, and others, most noticeably, the Columbine kids resented the popular ones. However, before the Internet, popularity was primarily confined to the high school itself.

The Internet through websites like MySpace has pushed the notion of popularity nation and worldwide. Originally conceived as a place that bands could put their information, it's become the place for high school kids to create webpages. The numbers involved are astonishing. Recently, TechCrunch reported on the massive growth of MySpace.

Much of MySpace popularity is the similar base appeal of reality television, to watch and be watched. How many friends do you have? Other than Tom? Are we witness to the fall of Rome, when our interest falls into the decadence of who has the most friends, who is the hottest? What happened to intellectual pursuits? Is it compatible with the MySpace world?

The one positive, I suppose, is this huge awareness of the Internet, once thought of as the playground of geeks, and now migrating to every household that has a teen waiting to break free of the physical confines of their town, their high school, their parents' homes.

But what happens when this group grows up. Do they outgrow MySpace, or does MySpace create an adult outlet that can market to this crowd. Will there be an Oprah for the MySpace generation, or will Oprah be that Oprah?

Parents raising babies are now becoming increasingly aware of MySpace, but what happens when those parents are themselves from the MySpace generation?

It's likely MySpace will be around for a while, though supplanted by some snazzy competitor that's figured out something that can build enough groundswell to take over. It's the story of the Internet writ over and over. You think you can dominate and do well (witness AOL), and someone else comes along to take over, to spot a trend, to get the masses interested, and you're left scrambling, the models of commerce ever evolving.

Tacky websites and sounds alike, MySpace is thriving, much like AOL thrived ten years ago. What do the next ten years portend?