MySpace is an online community where members can meet to share photos, journals and interests with an extensive network of friends. The MySpace mission statement describes the MySpace network as being for everyone including:

* Friends who want to talk Online
* Single people who want to meet other Singles
* Matchmakers who want to connect their friends with other friends
* Families who want to keep in touch–map your Family Tree
* Business people and co-workers interested in networking
* Classmates and study partners
* Anyone looking for long lost friends!

From this description it is clear that MySpace is an excellent place for online networking. This article will take a look at how to find the people you want to network with on MySpace and will examine whether or not the networking should remain online.

Who Do You Want to Meet?

When using MySpace to network it is important to consider who you want to meet in your networking endeavor. There is a misconception that MySpace is just for kids but many are finding there are all types of people using MySpace. Before making a decision about whether or not you want to network on MySpace it is wise to spend some time searching around MySpace to find out whether or not there is a large amount of individuals who share your interests. Spending some time doing research before beginning your own MySpace website is helpful because otherwise you might invest time and energy into designing your website only to find there are not many members with which you want to network.

Where Can You Find Those You Want to Meet?

Now that you have identified who you are looking to meet online through MySpace it is time to start finding these individuals. The search feature can be very helpful for this purpose. Compile a list of keywords which are likely to be used on the MySpace websites of members you would like to meet. Searching for these keywords can help you to locate those who share your interests.

Visiting the MySpace websites of your friends’ friends can also help you to meet more interesting individuals on MySpace. Those who you already consider to be friends likely share some of your interests. Likewise many of their existing friends may share these interests as well. Investigating websites of those who are friends of your friends can put you in contact with many more people who might be potential friends for you.

Do You Want to Take Your Networking Offline?

After networking online the natural progression is to determine whether or not you want to expand on your network to include face to face meetings as a part of this networking. Care should be taken when making this decision to ensure you are not putting yourself, or others, at unnecessary risk by arranging these networking meetings.

The most important aspect in arranging offline networking meetings with those who you meet online is choosing a safe location for these meetings. A well lit, busy, public location is ideal for these types of meetings. These types of locations not only minimize the chance that any participants in the meeting will attempt to harm others but also helps to make those who are planning to attend feel safer. You might think a house belonging to your friend is an excellent location because you are familiar with the location and will have friends with you but it is important to note those you are meeting may be just as suspicious of you as you are of them. They are more likely to be interested in attending your meeting if it takes place in a public location because they will feel more comfortable.

Another aspect to consider when deciding whether or not to take virtual networking opportunities offline is whether or not you think the friendships will be the same offline as they are online. Many Internet users feel freer to express their opinions online than they do in face to face meetings. Friends who have wonderful relationships through MySpace may find their relationship falters when they actually meet in person.

When most people think of MySpace they believe it is merely a community for individuals to make friends or reconnect with old friends but MySpace can offer more to savvy Internet marketers who know how to network effectively on MySpace. Although MySpace is intended to be a noncommercial community and commercial websites are strictly prohibited there are some opportunities to advertise and stimulate sales through MySpace. This article will discuss the subject of advertising on MySpace, the terms of service on MySpace and how MySpace members can avoid being viewed as dreaded spammers by other members of the community or by MySpace administrators.

Advertising on Your MySpace

According to the MySpace mission statement, the community is meant to be a noncommercial one. However, this statement refers to the individuals’ pages created and maintained by members and not the website as a whole. In fact MySpace is a commercial website with banner advertisements running on many of the pages and other advertisements appearing in sidebars and other locations. These advertising opportunities are open to the public and anyone who is interested in advertising in these areas is urged to contact MySpace directly for more information. This type of advertising is worthwhile for business owners who have products or services which may appeal to the members of the community.

While advertising on individual websites on MySpace is prohibited by the terms of service there is sometimes room to market products one ones website without violating the terms of service. Although many visitors to MySpace have encountered websites which are blatant advertisements, this practice is not recommended because, if discovered by MySpace administrators, it may lead to the individual being banned from the community. However, consider an example where a link to an ecommerce website selling sunglasses is placed in answer to a question of, “What is your favorite type of sunglasses?” The link certainly provides a relevant answer to the question and does allow visitors to the website to learn more about the member. Determining whether or not this is advertising or not is a matter for MySpace to determine but it is likely they would not consider this advertising although those who follow the link might end up making a purchase.

MySpace Terms of Service

The terms of service provided by MySpace were created to offer members guidelines as to what types of actions are acceptable and what actions are prohibited. All members should read these terms of service before joining and should review the information periodically to ensure it has not changed significantly during the course of the membership. Members who have questions regarding the terms of service should contact MySpace directly for more detailed information or an explanation of the terms.

Avoiding the Spam Pitfalls on MySpace

We have already discussed how although commercial websites are prohibited on MySpace there are some advertising opportunities which still exist. MySpace reaches a large audience each day and this large audience might tempt some to try to advertise to all of these members and visitors at once. Unfortunately this sometimes can be construed as spam. Therefore, precautions should be taken to avoid actions which might be considered spam by other members or the MySpace administrators.

As an example of the potential for spam consider a MySpace member who is very excited about the cosmetics line they sell. This member might really believe in the products and think they are so wonderful that everyone should learn more about these products. However, if this user then begins systematically going through MySpace searching for all users who mention anything even remotely related to cosmetics and then places a comment on their website directing them to a link to more information about these cosmetics this would likely be considered to be spam. The member may think their actions are harmless but the members who receive these comments and the MySpace administrators may disagree.

Best regards,

OMM Blogging Team