If you think your business, music band, or just your personality could benefit from participating in one of the most trafficked sites on the Internet, then you need to know what MySpace is and how to get involved.
First of all, what is MySpace?
Well, simply put, MySpace is a gigantic (and controversial) network of user-submitted web pages hosted on MySpace.com. This collection of web pages allows MySpace members to interact with each other by making friends, posting comments, posting newsletters, writing blogs, sending emails, and more.
MySpace.com is the undisputed leader of social networking sites and continues to dwarf other would-be contenders like FaceBook, Xanga and Bebo. It currently has over 138 million user accounts which, even after factoring in people with multiple accounts, could easily add up to over 50 million unique members. Most MySpace members are (contrary to popular belief) older than 25 years. Controversy over corporate history, horribly designed pages, copyright violations, and the safety of underage users have given MySpace a ‘bad boy’ image that has only served to increase its appeal and popularity. .
One of the most attractive features of MySpace (and also one of the most criticized) is the ability to fully customize a MySpace page by embedding a CSS style sheet. Many third-party sites now specialize in creating and distributing pre-made CSS style sheets designed specifically for customizing MySpace pages. These pre-made style sheets, which are typically linked to background images hosted on external servers, are known as ‘MySpace layouts’.
Ultimately, MySpace is now a huge marketing opportunity attracting celebrities, rock bands, and even major movie producers to sign up for a MySpace account in order to enjoy free exposure to a searching demographic. of emotions of tens of millions. There is some talk that MySpace’s popularity is declining, but the traffic statistics for the last year don’t support it (and actually say otherwise). In addition, Google recently signed a 3-year contract that will run through the second quarter of 2010, culminating in MySpace’s coffers being filled to the tune of $900 million.
Soooo…. How do you get any of that from MySpace?
Well, it’s actually quite simple. All you need to bring to the party is a name and email address. Just go to MySpace.com, click the Sign Up button, fill out a short form, and voila, you’ve got a free MySpace page.
Here are some quick tips on what to do after signing up:
— Choose your MySpace URL (web address) carefully. There is no possibility to modify it once it has been set up. You’ll probably want it to somehow reflect your business, band name, or personality (essentially why you decided to sign up for a MySpace account). Your MySpace URL will be the web address that people can use to find your MySpace page, for example, http://www.myspace.com/YOUR_NAME_HERE
— You can customize your MySpace page by simply copying and pasting a MySpace layout code into the “About Me” text box on the “Edit Profile” screen (or the “Band Bio” box for music profiles). . MySpace layout codes abound on the web (although many are flawed). Just do a Google search for ‘myspace layouts’ or for better results do a search for ‘professional myspace layouts’ or ‘classy myspace layouts’.
— Don’t be shy about getting involved in the whole ‘adding friends’ thing. There really is no protocol. Just go to your MySpace account home page, click Browse, and then start visiting other MySpace member pages. When you see someone you’d like to add to your friends list, click the ‘Add to Friends’ button in your Contact [user name] and an email will be sent to them about your friend request. If they approve your request, they will appear on your friends list and you will appear on theirs. Not everyone will naturally approve your friend requests, but don’t take it personally. Just go ahead and keep it up. It’s customary to thank people who approve your friend requests by posting a comment on their page that says “Thanks for the ad!”
So don’t miss the boat on this baby. MySpace is all the rage right now and if you manage your MySpace account well, it can become one of your most valuable web assets.