CorpsData

[thewdude2]

My friend just introduced me to CorpsData (http://trigonroad.com/cd/default.cfm). It seems kinda like the MySpace for anyone who's ever been involved with Drum Corps. I'm still trying to figure out all of it, it seems pretty cool.

I'd like to know what everyone else thinks of CorpsData.

[PurpleKnights]

My friend just introduced me to CorpsData (http://trigonroad.com/cd/default.cfm). It seems kinda like the MySpace for anyone who's ever been involved with Drum Corps. I'm still trying to figure out all of it, it seems pretty cool.

I'd like to know what everyone else thinks of CorpsData.

It kind of fills the niche that corpsreps's member section doesn't quite live up to. Also keeps out the kids who never marched corps. Facebook and myspace groups are chock full of 'em.

[nothingbetter]

that's a pretty cool idea

[Michael Boo]

Let me ask the kids about this...A friend is trying to talk me into getting a MySpace page. I'm a bit out of synch with these networking sites. What are the benefits of such and how could it help me connect with more drum corps people?

[ravedodger]

Hey Mike, I only use MySpace to help me keep up with alumni. I'm thinking you could use it to find the occasional Fanfare story. Who knows?

[Strongo]

I only use MySpace/Facebook to keep in touch with my friends scattered all over the country (from drum corps). I likely won't use this CorpsData site, as all my DC friends already have either of the two. Even still, I neglect Facebook, heh. Don't need another one to forget about.

[Michael Boo]

Hey Mike, I only use MySpace to help me keep up with alumni. I'm thinking you could use it to find the occasional Fanfare story. Who knows?

Hopefully Fanfare won't be as occasional as it's been the past four months. I've had some distractions.

But how would using MySpace work for this? I really know next to nothing about it.

[JayM]

Hopefully Fanfare won't be as occasional as it's been the past four months. I've had some distractions.

But how would using MySpace work for this? I really know next to nothing about it.

It's just another networking tool. I'm sure there are some MySpace drum corps groups out there where you could find members willing to contribute stories.

I hate MySpace so I do not have an account there. If you're willing to try MySpace, you might give Facebook a shot as well.

[Michael Boo]

I stand corrected, Jayzer. It is Facebook that I've been told to try.

What's the difference between the two?

I did a search on Facebook of my address book and found dozens of people I know on it. Still, the thing seems alien to me.

[JayM]

I stand corrected, Jayzer. It is Facebook that I've been told to try.

What's the difference between the two?

I did a search on Facebook of my address book and found dozens of people I know on it. Still, the thing seems alien to me.

Well, Facebook was created by a student at Harvard (who subsequently dropped out and moved to the Silicon Valley), so it started there, then moved to most of the Ivies, and the quickly proliferated across the country's college campuses. The end result is that the user-base consists of mostly college kids or recent graduates. For quite a while, you had to have a college email address to get access, but it's now open to anyone and everyone.

For a while, the main difference was that Facebook was very professional-looking, as the layout of the page could not be tampered with. With MySpace, users have a good amount of control over the content displayed on the their page, which means for some profiles you have to deal with 10 videos playing at once, in addition the user's favorite song of the moment, etc, etc. This is actually one of the big reasons I avoid MySpace like the plague. Facebook has since allowed custom applications to be written and added, so now it's not too uncommon to find cluttered Facebook profiles as well, though not to the extent you'll find on MySpace.

Facebook is really good at aggregating information about your friends all in one place. MySpace has since added these sorts of features as well, but I think they implementation on Facebook is much more elegant. Facebook also has the most popular photo application in the world. As of the last (and only) Facebook conference, their photo application had more photos in their system than all of the other photo sites combined. Basically, if you go to a party and pose for any pictures, there's a good chance you'll find yourself up on Facebook the next day.

Of course with all of this comes privacy concerns, but Facebook has implemented a pretty good set of privacy controls, in contrast with MySpace where even as recently as yesterday they were having trouble keeping private photos (even those of users under 16) private (story here).

Facebook is still a privately-owned company, while MySpace is owned by the world's largest media conglomerate, News Corp.

I'm obviously a bit biased toward Facebook, not because I have any stake in their success, but because I'm firmly believe they're the better organization in every respect. Certainly check them both out and see for yourself...I just figured I'd give you a head start.