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The Reykjavík Grapevine

@rvkgrapevine

Re: Myspace vs. Facebook
I am an international student and an avid reader of the Grapevine, my only source to interesting icelandic news (or I should say news put in an interesting way) and quality English articles on paper, which I eagerly await every fortnight. Much to the same enthusiasm I pore over ‘Myspace vs. Facebook’ only to realise how censorious you (or the columnist?) are of Myspace, in the least not justifying the title, which could have been something like this – ‘Junky myspace vs. innovative Facebook’.
The other day websites (space is not enough to list) ran a series of article on the creativity you can chalk out using free tools at the Myspace – from creating funny looking tabs to sophisticated personal webpages, which until now is extravaganza for a very few, who have actually gone through rigorous java, c++ training. It brought a revolution in the internet-community space, which has given birth to a number of interesting pages; LinkedIn (dedicated to professionals), jobster (only for job seekers and employers), VisiblePath (focussed on relationship strengths) and Facebook (now you all know) to say the least.
On the other hand, the day is not far when all these web apps plunging (now hundreds of them every week) into Facebook will besmirch its’ real face. Shouldn’t it be the other way round: i.e. web apps should “run on the internet, out in the open, and people can tie their social network into it if they want.” It would have been a great if you had put this in the right context while juxtaposing Facebook with ‘Macy’s gift cards’, ‘ringtone and sex ads’ etc. on Myspace. Do you not see it is inevitable on Facebook now, when Zukerberg has announced Facebook open in May this year?
Finally, I do agree the opinions of the columnists don’t reflect the opinions of the Grapevine but I guess you too would agree that sometimes these ‘not upto- date’ opinions are much prejudiced.
Regards
Naresh
Dear Naresh,
You touch on some interesting topics, and I should probably put an effort into giving you the well thought out answer it deserves, but to be frank, I just can’t be bothered. You see, the opinions of the columnist are not my own (nor the Grapevine’s, although it is often damn near impossible to distinguish between the opinions of the Grapevine and my own.) The problem is, I just can’t get into this myspace/facebook/whatever debate. I simply find the whole social networking scene too preposterous. I don’t use any of these sites – I prefer face-to-face interaction – and I have never been able to understand people’s fascination with them. Now, maybe I am ‘not up to date’ or even prejudiced, but that’s just how it is. But if you want to debate which guest had the best performance on the Muppet Show, I’ll take your call.
PS. Besides, I was on vacation when that opinion ran. I don’t know why I even bothered to answer this. Editor
Hi,
I recently visited Iceland (which I like immensely) and picked up a copy of The Reykjavik Grapevine. Just to say that, as a visitor, I liked it very much. It manages to balance the fine line between something that is informative but readable at the same time. Thanks for a good experience J.
Frank Tompson
Connect2Tunnels
www.tompson.demon.co.uk
Dear Frank, Thank you for your kind words. If I might add, I have always felt so myself, and I am not even a visitor.
Editor
Dear Editor,
I recently read an article in a Swedish newspaper that said that in Iceland it is possible to meet with elves, or as you often call them in Iceland, ‘the hidden people’. I have long been fascinated by elves, ever since I saw the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I am a big fan of Legolas.
I would like inquire if it is possible to book an appointment with an elve when I come to Iceland, preferably in its natural surroundings rather than in a display booth? Where should I turn? Do you pay by the hourly rate, and are discount rates available? Also, is there a bar in Reykjavík frequented by elves? I would love to meet one outside of their working environment.
Thank you so much for your time,
Göran Vesterås
Växjö, Sweden
Dear Göran,
Thank you for your letter. Several people will claim they can put you in touch with elves. I am not familiar with any specific website that makes this service available, but you might want to seek out Sálarrannsóknarfélagið, (www.srfi.is) an association of Icelandic spiritists. I am not sure what elves charge for their services, but I would imagine that they follow similar rates as taxi drivers, with a starting-fee of 450 ISK. Elves would most likely attend the live music venue Organ, since their interest in music and dance is very well documented. I would say that is your best bet to meet an elf outside of work.
Hope this helps,
Editor.