Social Media is an all encompassing facet of the 21st Century. Companies recognize its commercial value, people recognize its social value, and social media recognizes the power it has in serving as a means of communication for the whole world. But Rome wasn’t built in a day. Social Media’s existence was once cumbersome, and in it’s earliest popular form was MySpace, which in the late 2000’s connected people from around the world, enabling us to share our interests through an online network.Tom Anderson, colloquially referred to as MySpace Tom, was its founder. He is remembered as the unassuming gentleman that was our first friend on Social Media.
But Social Media isn’t the same as it was at the beginning of the decade. Since the early 2010’s, Facebook has become the largest social networking site with over 2 billion users and ownership over Instagram. It’s not a 2007 social site, it’s a tech-industry giant that surveils billions of people and sells user-info to businesses. The lizard-like overlord of this system is Mark Zuckerberg. Since its inception, Mark Zuckerberg and his company have been called out by Congress and other organizations for interfering in the 2016 election, violating our privacy, and negatively affecting user’s self esteem and wellbeing.
Social Media and its figureheads have taken a heel turn. MySpace Tom was our first friend on a goofy site! His profile picture is unmistakable to the social media veterans. Meanwhile, Zuckerberg is a cold-blooded businessman, capitalizing off of our needs to share and connect by selling our livelihood to other businesses. In my DIY project, Zuckerberg’s soulless expression has replaced MySpace Tom’s warm embrace, revealing his true colors in the darkness of his shadow.
Alfred Bordallo // ASCJ 200 