Back in June, Danah Boyd wrote a blog post of observations about Facebook, MySpace, and class divisions in America. She noted that her blog post was not an academic paper but nonetheless her observations { in her blog post} were perceived by many as something far beyond her intention. A maelstrom ensued. But why?

Stephen Baker at Blogspotting asked: Response to Danah Boyd: Peer review or Lynching? Well, to Danah it definitely didn't feel like a peer review....she wrote a response this week to the reactions to her post and noted that she " had to practice deep breathing" while reading various discussions and emails that followed her post.

Rex Hammock, who typically hits the sweet spot in defining the issues, titled his post, Danah Boyd is Pretty Ticked at Those Who Have Butchered her Research.

I wrote about her observations all of which In didn't necessarily agree with....I used my own observations based upon a sample size of my two teenagers, a few nieces and nephews to support my position. No one really questioned my credibility, presumably because I am entitled to make unscientific observations on my blog though Danah is not.

Later after the mud started slinging, I noted in another post about the work that Alice Robison is doing at MIT regarding media participation/media consumption issues relating to education and youth, that the reaction to Danah Boyd's blog essay was a study in new media participation on its own. Instant "analysis" based upon superficial reading; worse yet, superficial reading of someone else's superficial conclusions.

Read Danah's latest writing, among other noteworthy things, these are observations of a not very pleasant aspect of new media participation. Personal attacks are bad enough under any circumstances; personal attacks by people who clearly hadn't even taken the time to read Danah's observations were totally outrageous.

Are there class divisions in America? Well, as my kids might say, "you don't need a PhD to know the answer to that." Would these off line class divisions migrate to online social networks? Ditto to the PhD not required.

Since Facebook started out as a college kids only social network and MySpace did not have such a wall around their garden, it would be safe to assume that the demos would be different on the two social networking sites. As Danah said to that, "Duh."

"A class division has emerged and it is playing out in the aesthetics, the kinds of advertising, and the policy decisions being made," Danah observed in her original essay.  She ends with, "MySpace and Facebook are new representations of the class divide in American youth. Le sigh." And le duh. So back to an earlier question: How come such a free-for-all?

Ericka Menchen Trevino wrote that the combination of one part Class Division, one part New Media, and sprinkle with teenagers is simply the recipe for a Perfect Storm.

Charles Green at Trust Matters notes, "Where Dana goes, she can't help but raise issues—she sits astride the intersection of old and new....the Adventures of Danah are like the coming attractions at the
movies.   Arrive early to see what's going to be playing in your own
life soon.

Hmmmmm, and what have we learned Dorothy? Well for one thing, everyone DOES know your a dog, even on the internet, Toto. Life imitates art, imitating life, imitating art. Class divisions online? Shoot the messenger.

Photo by Marianne Richmond.

Marianne also blogs at Resonance Partnership.

Technorati Tags: Danah Boyd, Rex Hammock, MySpace, Facebook, Charles Green, Ericka Menchen Trevino, media2.0, social networks

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