Myspace as a rallying point

There's been a story that's been making the rounds about a missing student. Typically, I don't pay too much attention to this stuff, especially given what seems to be a pretty clear bias. But it was more the role of myspace (and live journal) that caught my eye. Not only are the authorities reviewing comments left on the blog for clues, it has also turned into a sort of guestbook/memorial for Behl.

I couldn't help but think about another story that made headlines over the summer about the "deprogramming" summer camp. Not only was myspace a big part of that story, that too turned into a public space for people to comment, organize, and the like around a particular person or issue.

That myspace has been used in these instances as a rallying point of sorts, isn't really new. Tons of organizations have profiles on various social networking sites. What I wonder though, is how many are actually effective at reaching their base, fulfilling their mission, and the like? Is it too much to ask of organizations to actually do all of that with social networking sites? Could the fact that they are there on these sites be enough?