Method Acting has had a mixed history. The technique used by actors to immerse themselves in the lives of their characters has produced as many absurd stories as great performances. For every Marlon Brando in On The Waterfront, there’s Daniel Day-Lewis getting pneumonia while filming Gangs of New York but refusing medical assistance because “they wouldn’t have had treatment in the 19th Century”. For every Robert de Niro in Raging Bull there’s Dustin Hoffman staying awake for three whole days during the filming of Marathon Man to try and make his character look tired (his co-star, Laurence Olivier, suggested he “try acting” instead).

It now looks like Justin Timberlake has trumped them all. Shortly after immersing himself into the character of an internet mogul who takes The Facebook to the next level (it was his suggestion to “drop the ‘The’”), he’s taking method acting to the next level by taking a stake in MySpace along with Specific Media.

Since the announcement to a skeptical industry in June it’s been pretty quiet, but things are starting to happen after launch events in LA and this week in London. The first reason to think that JT might be on to something is the fact that 70 million people still use the service: surprising when most people in media assumed it had died a death. Beyond that, the new owners are convinced that MySpace can fill a vacuum in popular culture, music and content, which has never been filled, despite the popularity of Facebook and YouTube.

It’s a bold move and the odds are against them, but Hollywood loves a good underdog-comeback story. Whatever happens, it will be fun to watch.

I love it when people get all end-of-the-world-is-nigh about developments in technology. There’s always a good headline or even a book deal to be had from making the point that things are going to hell in a handcart and were much better before. There’s a new target every year or so.
For example, in 2007 Wikipedia took a beating from “The Cult of the Amateur: how today’s internet is killing our culture”, while in 2008 Atlantic magazine made lots of noise with an article titled “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”. The arguments have been raging back and forth ever since.

Recently there has been even more of it than usual. Social media is on the receiving end this time, possibly prompted by Facebook announcing their 500 millionth user. Amid the Facebook PR fanfare a few dissenting voices have been heard. Firstly, a survey stating that although Facebook is still the top social destination for online teens, 19% of those who have created a Facebook profile say they no longer visit the site, or are using it less.

Another survey, measuring customer satisfaction with websites, shows that social media has the lowest satisfaction score of any category, with Facebook coming bottom in the social media rankings.

The Washington Post got in on the act, with an article filled with anecdotal evidence of Facebook fatigue. Too many friend requests, too many updates, too little real-world contact. Etc etc.

Complaining about new stuff isn’t new. People have been complaining about new-fangled technology ever since the ancient Greeks decided that writing things down was a bad thing as it would make people lazy. But because of the technology we have now, we can use technology to make us all nostalgic about the good old days. For example, this website that makes any website look like it was made in 1996 by a 13 year old on Geocities. Good old days.