I just quoted Dan Perkel: “Certainly, it provides an introduction to the medium, and some even may learn more about HTML and CSS as a part of trying to customize their profiles. However, the way in which the MySpace designers use CSS works completely against the point of style sheets” — and that is exactly the problem with MySpace (or MSN or whatever of those kind of environments). They might on the one hand provide some sort of introduction to learning HTML, learning how to express oneself, but it does it in a (relatively) closed-off environment — it will not dawn easily on the users how easy it is to actually just make a website oneself, that HTML can be used freely, and has many more possibilities than those offered within MySpace &c. (Of course MySpace offers a lot of functionalities very easily that are much more difficult to ‘get’ if one would like to do everything oneself).

What is the “bandwidth” of expressivity that MySpace provides? That a certain kind of blogging-software provides? That HMTL provides?

Rationally I understand why people use MySpace and are attracted to it. Personally, –qua feeling — I must say that I don’t get why people like to spend time in (on) such a ugly, yes even clunky (slow loading, players that don’t work immediately &c.) environment.

But then “they” might find this blog totally unattractive…