Who Says Money Can't Buy Friends?

Courtney5000 writes "It looks like some users of popular networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook have stooped so low as to actually pay real money for friends. These friends aren't even real believe it or not. You can apparently choose from a selection of 'models' to leave you customized comments to look like you have friends and are popular online. This is unbelievable!"

Re:And how many here use myspace?

/. represents a relatively small, select group of people ... not at all indicative of the masses. MySpace and Facebook are hugely popular with the general population, and in particular with high schoolers and college kids. Most adults would consider this large segment of the population "superficial", so it stands to reason that a good social networking site would mirror its userbase's traits.

But what social networks do folks here use? Is there a good one that offers the benefits of a Facebook or Myspace, while being less superficial and spammy?

Re:And how many here use myspace?

This is our social network. Most of us, I would say, also use this old technology called IRC. To tell the truth. I'd rather talk to an eggdrop bot with a megahal script on IRC than to most of the real people on myspace.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

Benefits of Myspace without being superficial and spammy? You mean about:blank?

Re:And how many here use myspace?

I'm with you. Most of my non-geek friends are on MySpace so I created an account to keep up with them. My 10 year reunion was organized through MySpace. But every time I pull up a profile my inner web designer dies a little. I use Flashblock to prevent the music from assaulting the ears but these fonts set to 50% opacity over a background of similar color make me want to stab out my own eyes. I have to select the text just to read it and that makes me hurt on so many levels. Why, ye internet Gods, why? Next they will be setting their font to 3px, opacity to 25, with color at #010101 using a background color of #000000. That is when I start hunting Tom with an elephant gun for allowing this.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

/. represents a relatively small, select group of people

Tell that to all who have ever been slashdotted.. ;P

Re:And how many here use myspace?

Next up. Slashdot sells Mod points.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

But what social networks do folks here use? Is there a good one that offers the benefits of a Facebook or Myspace, while being less superficial and spammy?

Yeah: Facebook or Myspace.

Translation: DON'T ASSOCIATE WITH SUPERFICIAL PEOPLE AND YOUR MYSPACE EXPERIENCE WILL REFLECT THAT

I don't know why this is such a difficult concept for people on Slashdot to grasp. It is barely any different from real life. Every day, at the grocery store, at your job, at school, at church, there are people all around you who are superficial or otherwise undesirable to you. The entire world we live in is like that. The trick is that you don't fucking hang out with people like that. Problem solved.

If you don't like 'emo' kids, don't add any to your friends list. If you don't like 'whores', don't add any to your friends list. If you don't like teen-agers in general, don't add any to your friends list. Your experience on MySpace will be interesting and constructive if you surround yourself with interesting and constructive people.

In the end you may have some other reason for disliking MySpace, of course, but the Slashdot line that MySpace is populated solely by angst-ridden uneducated children is bull shit. You would have the same impression of Earth if you were looking at it from the outside. But if you actually use the superior intelligence that you imply you possess, you will discover that there are many people on MySpace who do not fit your caricature.

Or, you know, you could just use it to communicate with people from real life, the way i and everybody else i know do, and not even worry about how the rest of the world behaves on MySpace.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

"No. Popular with angsty kids who still consider their favorite band-of-the-week as a defining characteristic of their very existence."

You can choose to believe that or not. The choice is largely one of ignorance or not.

There are a huge number of people on MySpace, and pigeonholing them in the way you have is akin to a MySpacer saying "Slashdot? That's popular with pale-skinned computer geeks that have no friends, no life, and no social skills. They live in their moms basement at age 35 and consider their computer operating system a defining characteristic of their very existence"

The point I'm trying to make is that if you think that MySpace is full of superficial, ignorant people who accept stereotypes at face value, then you, sir, based on your comments, would fit right in.

Re:And how many here use myspace?

But what social networks do folks here use?

What is this "social network" you speak of?
Do I have to own a Zune to use it?

Re:And how many here use myspace?

If you are over thirty and have a My Space account you are probably a pedophile.
Yeah right! After looking with my daughter on MySpace, you are telling me that Tony Hawk is a pedophile, Wierd Al Yankovic is a Pedophile and Michael Jackson is a .... Oh wait....

Re:And how many here use myspace?

"This is one reason why many people don't use Myspace. Many of the people on it are pathetic and superficial.

And I will give you may absolute full and undying support....for $19.95.

~X~

Re:And how many here use myspace?

Mod parent up. Only $5.

I don't need friends...

...But I really need good slashdot karma ;)

Re:I don't need friends...

Finally a chance to turn my mod points into cold hard cash, how much are you offering? ;)

Re:I don't need friends...

YOU could have excellent Karma Today!

Mail me your Username & Password & for only one fee of $10, I'll post under your name until you have better karma.

Just send an e-mail to [e-mail] or we can discuss payment in your journal once you've e-mailed your username:password.

TubeSteak is like V1AGR@ for your Karma

How is this different

How is it different from the "real life"? You are what you dress. You are what you consume. You are what you friends are. Unfortunatly in these days for many people you exist only in the eyes of the others. When other people stop looking and "admiring" you, you don't exist anymore.
So you are buying a new car today yop say? Do you **really** need it?

Re:How is this different

"You're not your job. You're not how much money you have in the bank. You're not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet. You're not your fucking khakis. You're the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world."

Join Project Mayhem today!

Re:How is this different

I'd hang out with anyone called "Donald".

Or "Pluto".

It could be from Japan and not unbelievable

All kinds of fake friend services are common. Nothing special there.

Re:It could be from Japan and not unbelievable

Ya... it's like this escort service I use where they... err... nevermind.

Re:It could be from Japan and not unbelievable

It's actually kinda funny; I've heard stories from a couple of people I work with who all know this one guy, let's call him Bob. Bob is military, and, like most military guys who love their job, doesn't have much time for women. So Bob hires a hooker once a week... it's the same hooker each time, she comes over after work and leaves in the morning. Bob pays her a bit extra to bring beer and pizza with her. The guy apparently always has a smile on his face and claims that it's cheaper than being married to a non-working housewife.... especially when you factor in that most people who know Bob personally are also military and have at least one divorce each under their belts. So paying for "friendship" isn't always as stupid as it sounds... some people just don't have time to forge the bonds that make the rest of us human... that doesn't mean they shouldn't have access to them.

Based upon the header

I though it was another article on the MS/Novell 'agreement.'

Shhhh!

You can apparently choose from a selection of 'models' to leave you customized comments to look like you have friends and are popular online.

One day the slashdot editors will figure out that we're all bots too, and the game will be over.

Re:Shhhh!

Shhh! this is from the Bots Detection Bot. We don't want you to spread the word that all these posts are from bot. except for one poor sap who is actually reading this.
I shouldn't have said that. But I wasn't programmed with a backspace option.

Bots Detection Bot

This is the real Bots Detection Bot, which has user ID 1033846.

Your account has been suspended.

This thread will be deleted.

For just 5 dollars...

For the low price of just 5 USD, you can chose from our selection of highly praised slashdot users (some with only 3-digit UIDs) to friend you, please send payments to [e-mail]

Re:For just 5 dollars...

Just to prove you aren't scamming, could you have them mod this post +5 funny? No offense meant, I just want to make sure.

Isn't this done already?

...America's fraternities and sororities were unavailable for comment.

Re:Isn't this done already?

As a disclaimer, the parent was most likely a joke, but I feel the need to interject because comments like this really piss me off...

As someone that pledged & joined a fraternity during my undergrad I take offense to your comments. I met many life long friends, and solidified many other relationships inside this organization. It taught leadership & management skills that certainly will become precursors to strong professional lives.

It is the habit of many people to comment on things they know nothing about; the popular saying is that people in fraternities and sororities really do pay for their friends. In reality, dues are paid to ensure that the organization can continue to function and remain an avenue for people to experience & meet new people, whom they traditionally would not have met.

Re:Isn't this done already?

Lesson: Don't admit you were in a frat unless you're around a bunch of other people that were in frats. These days most people, although they are too polite to say anything about it, look down on frats/sororities.

Know the social group you're in. Middle/upper management is probably a good place to advertise that. Slashdot is about the worst place. Look at us, half of us probably beat off to Revenge of the Nerds. Now get outta here before someone starts taunting you with Monty Python quotes.

Re:Isn't this done already?

As a fraternity man myself, I usually respond to the old "Greeks buy their friends" line with one of my own:

Me(you): "So you think I bought my friends? Tell me, do you attend church?"

Him(me): "No, I dont believe in mass indoctrination of any kind"

Me(you): "doyeee?? Lookz aat myz myspacez! i iz kool!"

Him(me): "oh yeah. You gonna finish that 26er, friend?"

Lesson: Don't put words in other peoples mouths or they will do it right back.

Unbelievable?

This is unbelievable!

On the contrary, I'd say it was inevitable.

What's wrong with that?

Teh weB2.0 is teh rox0r. It just goes to show the power of Web2.0 and it's ability to democratize formerly abstract concepts like friendship, then monetize them. What more can you ask for, you can already buy love in several US states and countries around the world.

        -Charlie

P.S. /. strips sarcasm tags. For the terminally holier-than-thou set, the above was indeed sarcasm.

Normal?

Fake your Space says (and I quote): "We understand that you want your friends to look as normal as possible and as far from fake as possible. I looked around in the Women and Men section, and I didn't see one normal looking person. Check out Molly for instance.

This website is a nice prank.

Yes it can.

has anybody actually said that money can't buy you friends? I thought we all agreed that it can't buy you love, or happiness, but friends was still wide open. There was always one little rich kid at school who proved that you could, in fact, buy friends.

No....you rent them....

when the money stops flowing...those "friends" go away.

not that unbelievable

People have paid for sex for thousands of years. Pathetic as it may seem, why is it surprising that they'd pay for cyber-friends as well?

New Slogan

"Fake Your Space -- A Place For Posers"

Seriously, how is this different than gamers buying virtual goods with real-life money?

Weird Al didn't need to buy friends....

He had a pimped out myspace because he was white and nerdy though.

A Fictional Situation.

A Fictional Situation.
Location a 8th Grade class in a computer room.
Dude B: Dude, you have no friends you are a complete loser!
Dude A: No way I have ton a friends let me show you.
(Dude A opens his MySpace Page)
Dude A: See all the friends I have!
Dude B: Oh I See I guess you are cool after All.

In real life there Dude B wouldn't care. In all this effort to make yourself seem cool the best you can do is make yourself as part of the crowd. So stop trying to be cool it takes to much effort just try to blend in and you are all set.

Re:A Fictional Situation.

In real life there Dude B wouldn't care. In all this effort to make yourself seem cool the best you can do is make yourself as part of the crowd. So stop trying to be cool it takes to much effort just try to blend in and you are all set.

If he really wanted to be cool, he would have taken up smoking.

Re:A Fictional Situation.

I guess times have changed... In 8th grade, if I would have logged into a *computer* to show someone all of my "friends" I would have gotten a smacked upside the head, laughed at and then promptly called a nerd.

What?!?!?!

So you mean all those myspace friends requests I keep getting from scantily clad women are really my friends taking sympathy on me and trying to buy me friends? :(

What's the point in that?

It's like buying a prostitute that won't put out...

Of course money can buy Friends

All 10 seasons are on DVD.

Cash for peerage / friends.

Cash for peerage sounds like something Tony Blair would be intrested in.

My world is collapsing around me!

These friends aren't even real believe it or not. You can apparently choose from a selection of 'models' to leave you customized comments to look like you have friends and are popular online. This is unbelievable!"

Oh my god, that can't possibly be true! People who pretend to be friends? That's unbelievable! In the real world, nobody would ever pretend to be friends with someone, unless they were real true friends for life, who were willing to die for you!

The internet is just evil. Imagine, people basing popularity just on how attractive someone is? It's not normal.

sneetches

So how long before having good looking friends is perceived as fake, and people start buying ugly friends? Slashdot. I just made you a fortune.

Good Question

Who Says Money Can't Buy Friends?

Actually, that's a good question. I don't recall ever hearing someone say that.

Check the whois records

Looks like slashdot has been duped for free advertising again. The submitter's domain (sandiegointeractive.com) and the fakeyourspace.com domain are registered to the same person.

This here is one of them joke sites

This is a joke site put out by Brant Walker . He's a photographer, video artist, and web designer from San Diego. Check out who owns the domain name.

Either that, or Brant is getting a bit hard up for money.

Myspace is also for marketing

If you're a musician or band trying to build a grassroots audience, Myspace has become almost indespensible. Thank god the bass-player actually likes myspace, and is willing to maintain the band's account. Thanks to him, we actually managed to attract an audience the first time we played in towns like Boston or NYC, away from our own turf. I'm guessing that FakeSpace is actually geared towards spammy-marketers, not insecure teenagers. If you were marketing to superficial people, the appearance of popularity would make a big difference.

Money still can't buy friends

This is just buying the illusion that you have them.

Re:A treatment for depression?

You really think that someone who is suicidal will have their mood bettered when they realize someone had to pay for them to have friends?

Re:A treatment for depression?

Yes. Please buy me a hooker so I don't kill myself.

Re:A treatment for depression?

Huh? Why not just create a new user and befriend that person ... even if you had to pretend to be someone else it would be far better than paying for it. Heck, you could go on MySpace and just roam around for users with very few friends and befriend them to lift their spirits. Again, far more noble than paying for friends.