Filed under: Fun, Social Software
When MySpace isn't black enough: BlackPlanet.com
There's no denying the appeal of demographically focused media outlets like BET, Lifetime, and SpikeTV to potential advertisers. So whether you're selling products for black people (BET) , women (Lifetime), or gangly teenage boys (SpikeTV), you can exploit a specific vertical media outlet that will expose your product to more of the people you are concerned with selling to.
As we enter the age of social networking, we begin to look at demographic focus in a slightly different manner. Because of database and user profile technologies, it's possible for a single social media outlet, such as MySpace, to provide access to many different tightly-defined demographic consumer groups who are participants in the social network.
Now, instead of dedicating the entire media property to a particular interest group, the social network operator can identify communities of special interest, of a specific race or gender, or of a particular religious background, making very appealing advertising opportunities available. Those who are pushing products aren't so much advertising any more, as they are merely participating in the network that serves their vertical.
Nevertheless, somebody at a company called Community Connect has decided that the approach employed by television network BET (that is, branding an entire media property around a certain race) remains the way to go. And apparently, over one million American blacks agree with them. BlackPlanet.com is a social networking site that is patronized primarily by African-Americans. The site has little to differentiate it from other social networking sites, although there are certainly a few cute innovations here (like BlackPlanet's Secret Admirer feature, a twist on Facebook's "poke").
Community Connect also runs MiGente.com, which is being pushed towards Latino-Americans, and AsianAve.com, which is being pushed towards Asian-Americans. Can these vertically-oriented social sites survive in a Facebook world? Having a million members is certainly a good start. So is carving out a meaningful niche--it appears BlackPlanet has done both.
So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do.
Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game.
The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
karsh said 1:32PM on 11-16-2007
BlackPlanet, MiGente and Asian Ave. have been around for at least eight years (Community Connect has been around for ten years). There probably hasn't been much change on the sites because they came BEFORE MySpace and Facebook (if anything, Facebook's poke is akin to BP's Secret Admirer feature) and, as you've stated, they serve their vertical.
So of course they can survive in a Facebook world.
(I'm not a BP fan personally, but just felt that their longevity in the social networking field should be pointed out.)
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Jim said 1:35PM on 11-16-2007
When will WET come out with WhiteWash.com?
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Karsh said 1:43PM on 11-16-2007
WET? WhiteWash.com?
Weak sauce, bro. Weak.
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Cory Anotado said 1:56PM on 11-16-2007
As un-PC as the title is, there's an alternative to BlackPlanet:
www.niggaspace.com
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kj said 2:06PM on 11-16-2007
Never thought I'd see Download Squad stoop this low for some page hits. You all should do your homework before posting on topics you all have no idea about, Blackplanet and the other sites mentioned were around way before Myspace and Facebook.com.
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taybay said 2:09PM on 11-16-2007
So wait.. are we striving for racial equality or not?
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Ernie said 2:14PM on 11-16-2007
Basically, karsh and #5 are correct. However, all three sites (BP, MiGente, AA) were focused on articles and content rather than your typical ethnic-themed social networking service. From AA at least, there was a huge backlash when the service changed formats, mostly due to the community feeling that the websites were just emulating YASNS (yet another social networking service.) as a way for the parent company to make an easy dollar.
Long story short: It's been around, but in a different format and it's a shell of its glory days, probably BECAUSE of the fact that it's a myspace clone.
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ns said 4:01PM on 11-16-2007
Clearly, BlackPlanet is not a new age in social networking.. like Karsh noted, BP has been around for almost a decade and still has about 1 million members. That hasn't changed much in at least 2-3 years, the last time I checked in on BP.
Is there a place for these sites? Definately. Has their value and identity been fully realised (read: commoditized)? Definately not. But then again, when has a minority group's economic potential been fully realized in the media marketplace? BET? MTV Tres? Any others...
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Steve said 10:43AM on 11-18-2007
Blackplanet predates Myspace by about 4 years. This post leads me to believe that like you think that Blackplanet(BP) was created as an alternative to Myspace for African Americans. If that is indeed the approach that you are taking, then I'm inclined to think that you may have been mislead and could potential be misleading others. Blackplanet has been around since 1999. I'm African American and I used BP for about 4-5 years (1999 - 2004). BP does a great job of adding features and services, like Employment Sections, Profile Customization, Friend list and Dating Services.
All in all, I think a little more research should have been don't and... I added you as a friend.
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blehh said 2:48AM on 11-17-2007
www.myghetto.com
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james 42 said 3:03PM on 11-17-2007
@taybay, apparently not...
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ConPermiso said 3:26PM on 11-17-2007
i'm not sure how exactly to explain my reaction to the title AND the content of this piece. The title is condescending, if not outright racist in intent. The content of the article is WOEFULLY uninformed and didn't even seem to have any other basis than to bash BlackPlanet. I was by turns appalled, angry, and incredulous and that was BEFORE i read the comments.
with the exception of karsh's comment (and maybe ernie and kj), the comments reflect and even magnify the intent of this article (niggaspace.com? REALLY?) .
Ted (and the editors of DS), you owe ALL of the DS readers an apology (not just the Black ones, but a specific apology to the largely-unnoticed Black readers would be nice as well). This is thinly-disguised bigotry in the guise of technological discourse. is it racism? since i consider racism to be an institutionally sanctioned activity, well, let's see how the editors (and weblogs, inc) respond.
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Mysterius said 5:09PM on 11-17-2007
Umm... how is this racist?
I can understand why some comments could be offensive (though I suggest getting a thicker skin if you're so easily perturbed), but I sincerely see no way the content of the Download Squad article could be offensive. Indeed, the last sentence is positively favorable.
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ConPermiso said 7:58PM on 11-17-2007
gee, i dunno, mysterius.
maybe you could define racism for me? since you don't see it by empathizing with my personal feelings, let me offer you an empirically based, discourse analytic approach.
maybe you can read an article about a nearly 10-year old website featuring content by and for african americans, which is considered the 5th largest SNS networks in the US, which is one of the stickiest sites on the web (as of Nielsen Feb 2007) and not see any discriminatory intent.
Instead of the above information, the site is described pejoratively in relation to myspace - "when myspace isn't black enough". according to the author, BPs approach is limited/dictated by its similarity to BET's audience approach. finally, BP has "cute" innovations. faint praise, indeed.
maybe you think racism is outright bludgeoning, crass profanity, or physical abuse. maybe you could consider that shoddy scholarship, dismissive rhetoric, and lack of proper contextual information can, in their way, be discriminatory as well.
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kj said 9:08AM on 11-18-2007
@ ConPersimo
I agree wholeheartedly with you. I didn't air out my feelings on the offensive title because I didn't want to be seen as jumping the gun but trust me you hit the mark. As I posted earlier, Download Squad (and Ted) stooped really low for this article. Hopefully an apology will be issued but I doubt it - they don't really seem to care as evident by the lack of replies/comments from them on their readers' findings.
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Jim said 10:58AM on 11-18-2007
I intended my post to be satirical. The satire being that while the vast majority of television could be considered for whites, thus negating the need for a WET, in our politically correct culture no one could actually name a tv channel 'WET'.
Sorry if it was taken otherwise.
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Frank said 11:30AM on 11-18-2007
I would like to know why do we have to have different groups,Tv and websites by color? If I opened an all white group I would be called a racist. My Tv station would be WET. LOL I am married to a mexican lady and I have two kids. I don't understand the duoble standards.
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seabass said 12:28PM on 11-18-2007
FYI: downloadsquad is owned by AOL.
AOL owns the only major competitor to blackplanet called, AOLBlackVoices.
This article is obviously here to create controversy.
it really reflects badly on the rest of the sites content, as it is so obviously wrong it is now making me question any of the other material here.
I have been recommending this site a lot, but now I see that I can't do that anymore.
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recon said 1:24AM on 11-19-2007
The funny thing is, if you've ever been a member of blackplanet, you would see that, yes, it is old, has been up for I don't know how long, as well as the other sites, migente and asian ave. and also that there is a mixed culture of members at each of these sites. BP members consist of whites, black, asian, hispanic and all other types as well as from different nations, not just american. And we all have fun, passing notes, adding freinds, posting pictures, changing our pages, spamming, clicking on links, signing the guestbooks and so and so on. Tom and his myspace is nothing new, it just had a better delivery as it was geared towards existing and upcoming artist; facebook was pretty much geared towards the college life. Social phenomenom gets touched by financial gain and BONG! thus the expansion. Never the less its all the same. You could even say collegeclub.com could of been the first facebook, for its social email amongst college kids. Anyway, Ted! Do some research before you go post an article in the way that have here. Perhaps you could post an update of your new learnings on how old these sites really are and answer your question of if they can survive the "Myspace" and "Facebooks" by saying they already have.
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recon said 1:27AM on 11-19-2007
and change that stupid title!!!!
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