Myspace for the Uninitiated

"Friend me at myspace."

Isn't that the "in" place to be these days? You hear about it, you wonder about it, but you're not sure if it's the right place for you. And besides that, you've also heard that it's a terrible place for predators to prey on young people.

You probably know about it from your teenagers. You think its about young people and bands who want to gain a following. You think groupies, you think adolescent. And you worry about what kind of element is out there. Do I really want any part of it?

Recent statistics indicate that social media sites, including video media places such as YouTube, are doubling every six months. At least half of the users are thirty-five years of age or older. And YouTube receives approximately twice as many views as Google. We're talking a venue for vast exposure to the public via Internet marketing.

It is estimated that in 2010 over $2 Billion will be spent on social network advertising in the U.S. ... -Volume 1 - Industry Convergence Continues (2007 Global Digital Medial Report)

I originally wrote this article for writers, but this really applies to just about anyone who wants to make friends and possibly expand their networking horizons. Social networking is the place to be. Don't let fear stop you from jumping in. Professionally speaking, if you want to reach a larger, possibly more diverse, audience, I suggest you take a look at this powerful, free promotional opportunity.

Believe me, I don't fit in the adolescent age group. Even my children don't fit that category any longer. But I utilize the power of the Internet, and specifically a presence on myspace as well as various other social networking sites. Do you visit large cities like New York, Seattle, Los Angeles, or any other that is teaming with huge populations? Do you take precautions when you visit those cities? Would you send your child out into unknown territory to play in one of those cities?

Of course not. Why should myspace be any different? Why would you take less precautions? Because you're sitting in your own home doesn't mean you should be less cautious. A stranger is still a stranger. And people put on character costumes on the Internet and you need to be wary. It takes a long time to get to know someone, remember that. Keep yourself safe.

Cautionary tips. Don't download anything from an email. Don't click on links within emails. Don't enter your password anywhere, unless you are at the page (and check the link to make sure it's not just a facsimile) you are supposed to be at. Spammers and phishers are becoming amazingly adept at acquiring information. And be certain you have good firewalls and virus programs that are up to date and running.

These are the very basics of Internet safety, whether making new friends and keeping things on a personal level or in running a business on the Internet. I write ebooks and run my business on the Internet and I take these precautions.

So, let's get back to talking about myspace and the social networking atmosphere.

Currently, there are at last count, somewhere around two hundred eighty million profiles on myspace alone. Millions of possibilities offer one a lot of wiggle room for making new contacts in an effort to interest people in your product or in finding friends who have similar interests to your own.

1. First off, sign up at www.myspace.com. Use a name you can remember, use a password that contains a mix of letters and numbers. Write these down so you can remember your information. Never give your password to anyone.

Profile. Myspace will give you a basic profile and all you need to do is go in to edit it with your own information. Pretty simple. So get a profile set up. That's your first goal. You can keep it simple, or use a template of which there are many available, or html intensive, depending on your knowledge. I used the Thomas Myspace Profile Editor to set mine up. You can find it here: http://www.strikefile.com/myspace/. You want to be careful about using outside templates because they could embed code into the template that you don't want as part of your site.

My suggestion is to keep it fairly simple and easy to load for those on dial-up. Be careful how graphics-intensive you make it. It can actually crash a person's computer if you throw in too many graphics.

Make sure your profile represents you or the persona you are trying to create. Do be careful on how you present yourself, either as an individual or as a business. Take a look at what other people are doing with their profiles.

2. Backgrounds for profiles. They are many and varied. I try to keep it simple and therefore used the Thomas Myspace Editor to create my profile. It simple, allows you to use a little creativity, and offers a nice look to your profile.

3. Adding music. Myspace is great for music. When you edit your profile, you can search and add music to your profile. It sort of makes it a bit more personal.

4. Slide shows. You can add a slide show of pictures, either hosted at myspace or by another site such as slide.com. I use slide.com because it allows for presenting the images with different backgrounds which is kind of fun.

This will get you started on gaining a presence and jumping in to the whole social networking experience. Don't let it scare you and just take it one step at a time. You don't need to rush through.

And keep in mind that there is a privacy feature which you can set and no one but your friends can see your profile that way. There's also a feature to keep the spammers for yammering at your inbox.

And if you get yourself set up, don't forget to friend me at myspace. You can find me at www.myspace.com/adriannadane (if you're over eighteen) or at www.myspace.com/tessmaynard which is my romantic suspense profile. I look forward to seeing you there.

Enjoy the experience and have some fun.