MySpace

MySpace is one of the most popular social networking sites on the internet, and was rated number 1 in 2006 before it was overtaken by Facebook. MySpace offers a blog, profile page, photo gallery and a number of small plug-in services all after registering for a free account.

 

Originally, when new users joined MySpace and wanted to customise their profile, they were encouraged to contact another MySpace user, become ‘friends’ with them, and then be taught how to change their page settings. It turned out that to do this you had to be a master of HTML coding, and after a year or two, MySpace decided to offer templates for the technically inept.

 

There is also a popular misconception that MySpace only exists for teenagers and struggling bands, which I suspect could be a result of artists such as Lily Allen and Sandi Thom using the site to launch their music, but this online community now has a lot more to offer.

 

Firstly, when you sign up for the free account, you will have a profile to complete, with your standard company details, and the option to upload images and start a blog. However, recently, MySpace has incorporated more features to rival some of the other networking sites, such as a Friends Activity Stream, so you can see what everyone’s doing at any time, and allows you to upload videos as well as photographs to your galleries. You can also choose your ‘vanity URL’, which means that instead of your page address being myspace.com/569384y89 it will then have a title of your choosing instead of some random numbers.

 

MySpace has also introduced the use of email addresses where as a user you can contact people outside of the MySpace network as the MySpace inbox operates exactly like a regular email address.

 

If you duplicate your company blog into a MySpace blog and register to be friends with Myspace UK and the various management people on the site, regular updating and quality content puts you in the running for becoming a featured blogger on the MySpace homepage. Extra traffic anyone?

 

The bottom line is that MySpace is a recognised social networking brand and provides exactly the right tools and applications to allow you to showcase your company with minimum effort, and because the site has so many millions of other users, the chance are that you’ll attract more potential customers to your profile instead of relying on your company website alone.