Archive for September, 2006

Ask The Pro: What is MySpace?

Friday, September 1st, 2006

This month‘s Pro is Michael Weinand, Web Developer at OnYourMark, LLC. Mike explains what all the fuss is about over MySpace.

I’m sure you have all heard about the new craze around the web called MySpace www.MySpace.com. If you don’t use it, someone you know does. But what exactly is MySpace and how is it being used as a new marketing tool by companies all over the globe?

At its heart, MySpace is a social networking site. Teens these days find it more and more important to fit in and they need constant reassurance that they have their friends behind them. This reassurance can come from anything, but instantly being able to log in online and see your friends has become a very easy transition for this tech-savvy generation. MySpace allows each user’s profile to show their “Top” friends and send messages to them, similar to email but all in one place, which makes it ideal for this generations’ appetite for ease-of-use applications.

You have probably heard the stories about online predators finding victims on MySpace. This is a very real threat when members carelessly post personal information about themselves (such as telephone number or address) that will allow someone to find them in the “real world.” One way MySpace helps a user circumvent this is that profiles can be set to private so only members on your “friends” list can view your information. If this is what is used, it is then important to make sure your “friends” are actually people you can trust, which in the online world becomes harder and harder everyday. Age restrictions also apply to MySpace; users must be at least 14 years old. MySpace features a FAQ section with resources for parents and MySpace safety tips.

Another MySpace problem that has occurred is impersonation and insults. Students have created fake, often vulgar, profiles of teachers or classmates they dislike. In July 2006, two teens in Muskego, Wisconsin, were given a disorderly conduct ticket for posting a derogatory song about a peer on MySpace. MySpace does offer removal services for libelous material, though the desired results of “e-bullying” are usually achieved before the offensive material is removed.

Due to the ever increasing popularity of MySpace, marketing companies are finding a new medium to market to the world’s biggest spenders, its youth. MySpace is free for members to use, yet it was sold for $580 million last July. How can it be worth that much? Advertising space. A site with over 40 million members almost guarantees effective advertising. This is why we see bands, websites and even new movies with their own MySpace pages.

Advertisers realize that it is the cheapest way to appeal to their demographic by literally becoming your “friend” on MySpace. Just by sending you a friend request, advertisers can almost guarantee that you view their page in the hopes you find something of interest and buy their product. One example is a band called Sfumato (www.MySpace.com/sfumatorocks). I had never heard of this band until my friend Dave went to their concert at Summerfest because he heard about them through MySpace Music. It costs the band nothing to have a MySpace page and it gave them one new fan.

MySpace has undoubtedly become one the new giants of internet marketing. Unfortunately it still is not an ideal marketplace for advertising because it has no sense of locality. Advertisements can not be directed to a specific region, state or community. Promoting your local business or band on MySpace is great, but wouldn’t it be better if you only marketed to users within a certain distance of your location? Google and Yahoo spend a lot of money researching and developing ways to get local to you. Google Local (local.google.com) is a tool that helps you find business close to your home.

We are currently developing MySpace-like personal profiles for our own WisNetwork of websites, and we have over 6,300 member profiles at theBubbler.com. By focusing on Wisconsin, we offer a sense of geography to the Internet. WisNetwork users can find products, services and people in Wisconsin, while local advertisers can target the Wisconsin market.

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