Myspace for the writer

Myspace is one of those sites that I think defines a lot of what is both good and bad and confusing about the internet. The good? It provides a way for people to both connect and express themselves. The bad? It provides a way for people to both connect and express themselves? The confusing? It provides a way for people to both connect and express themselves.

Seeing double triple in that last bit? Thing about Myspace is, you can get in touch with a lot of people, but you aren’t necessarily going to get in touch with the people you actually want to be in touch with. In general, having a lot of friends can be a good thing, because you can quickly spread word about events in your life, such as a book launching, or a short story selling. You can blog, maybe pasting over the entries from your website in order to keep people in the loop. You can search for people with interests in science fiction and fantasy and invite them to be your friends. You can also create a garishly awful personal page with glitter pink bunnies and quizzes that tell you which Ewok from Star Wars you are most psychologically compatible with.

I’ve used Myspace a bit in the past months, but not nearly as much as it seems a lot of people do. Mostly I login now to check for any messages and invites, but otherwise my page is lying pretty low. You can check it out through the link on the right of this blog, or on my Links page. I do plan to spruce the thing up and use it as another book-advertising central. In light of this, I’ve occasionally come across people who have analyzed the Myspace-phenomenon and give some insights on using it as a proper tool, rather than a slap-dash friend fest where you spam messages and bulletins to everyone out there that isn’t a porn bot.

Here’s my most recent discovery, thanks to the Buzz, Balls and Hype blog. Myspace as a Business Tool. I do believe Myspace can be a great opportunity if handled properly. You can provide video and podcasts, pictures of book covers, and all sorts of wonderful things that make you and your writing more attractive to those people who surf by. The biggest issue to avoid is taking it to that extreme that this article mentions—becoming too aggressive. Forgetting that each of those “friends” is a person, and not a dollar sign on the cash register. Don’t spam. Don’t make everything a “BUY MY BOOK” banner with scrolling neon text. Just enjoy having a tool that lets you reach potentially thousands of people at no cost to you (except some extra time).

Check out that article. What are your thoughts? Do you have a Myspace page? If you’re published, do you use it to advertise yourself, and have you found it effective, or not? Even if you aren’t a writer, do you use your page for anything other than reconnecting with friends from middle school that you haven’t seen in ten years?

I see that smile.