As mentioned in a previous entry, I had heard good things about the korean social networking website (hey that s what Wikipedia calls it) Cyworld.  so when I found out an american/english version was announced I decided to give it a try.  Much like the other popular sites.   It offers blogging and the sharing of pictures/media.  The emphasis on creating a community is very evident.  Users are encouraged to decorate their site by creating rooms and characters.  When I ventured out into cyworld, the first thing I noticed was the lack of 'older' users (meaning those over age 19) As opposed to  the Korean version which has users spanning a wide rang of ages.  This didn't discourage me and I continued on using the site. Then something happened.......I recieved my first invite to become someones friend.  I don't know why but I actually felt happy that someone would deem my 'worthy' of adding me.   In the days that followed something strange began to happen.....I became consumed with the pursuit of attaining 'friends'. I would not consider myself a very socialble person, in fact i'm quite happy with a small circle of friends, but I found myself logging on constantly to see how many people visisted my site, what comments they left and if they added me to their friends list (only few actually did).  At some point, not sure exactly when, I realized that it was stupid and pointless to be be consumed with this quest to be 'popular'.  It was like some bad high school experience.  I still keep my account active but very rarely visit it, the site  does have many things going for such as its appealing look but until it increases its users it might eventually fade out (in the states that is).  Which made me wonder why a really hideous looking site like MySpace is still thriving and newer, better sties are struggling and I condluded that much like everything else in the market it is not always the best that succeeds but merely what has the biggest segment of the market.  MySpace was able to capture people for a variety of reasons and has been able to grow their brand making it more difficult for competitors to make significant progress.  It will be interesting to see if MySpace can continue to succeed as people become aware of alternatives.  As for Cywolrd would i reccommend it? I'm not sure but I think people should check it out

I have always had a passion for soccer.  Whether it be my playing soccer or watching it on Television the sport has appealeed to me.  I'm not one of the many Canadians who simply tune in for the World Cup (nothing against those who do).  Being in Canada my focus has primarily been on English domestic soccer and Italian league soccer (Thank god for TLN).  But now I have another league to focus my enthusiasim wiht the addition of a Toronto based team, Major League Soccer.  I have dismissed the MLS as a minor league trying to compete with the 'big boys' of Europe, but ever since the Toronto franchise has been announced my curiosity has grown.  I know little about the players and teams due to the lack of exposure the league has had on TV (I want ESPN in Canada!).  However now that I have a vested intrest in the league I am anxious to learn more.  With the announcement of David Beckham joining the league in the upcoming season I can't wait to watch MY Toronto FC this season.

 

Visit http://toronto.fc.mlsnet.com for more info