Once upon a time, chat rooms were the hip way to make new friends and chat on the Internet about a multitude of interests. Today, however, chat rooms have been replaced with the popular website MySpace.com.
When my friends first told me about the site, I was immediately against it. I thought absolutely not, this is going to be some site full of obnoxious teeny-boppers, and although there are some of those, for the most part I was pleasantly surprised. It was pretty cool.
For those of you not familiar with the site, it is best described as a free online community with networking capabilities aimed for just about anyone. The site that launched approximately two years ago, gives its members the freedom and control to express themselves by creating individual profiles. Once signed up members can design their page, using html codes to control the layout, font and music. Not familiar with html? No problem, the Internet hosts several helpful sites, all catering to upgrading your MySpace profile. One site, pimpmymyspace.com, offers a short tutorial on html, as well as free video codes from your favorite artists. Another site, createblog.com allows users to copy and paste html codes, free of charge. With almost 400 different layouts, the hardest part about the site will be picking your favorite.
MySpace also allows members to create online journals, share photos, date other singles, locate old friends and make some new friends. Just from typing in CSUN school tab, over 4,000 students appear. Mind you, that does not include the alumni. For CSUN students looking for roommates and apartments, the site offers listings and forums, specifically for CSUN under the classified section and at the CSUN homepage. The detailed search tab located on top portion of the screen, can search for long lost friends or high school sweethearts. Users can search either by name, school or email address, just to name a few.
CSUN students are not the only ones “myspac-ing it,” it seems young Hollywood celebrities are also hooked on this latest craze. Celebrities, such as MTV’s favorite prankster Ashton Kutcher, the E! Channels Tara Reid, and pop sensation Kelly Clarkson, are also members whose profiles can easily be found. Despite that many of the profiles created in the name of our favorite celebrities may be fakes, these ones are actually real!
Over time, the site has become a melting pot of artists from different genres of music. For those looking to promote themselves, MySpace offers two great features, an event forum and My Bulletin Space. The event section, gives users everywhere the opportunity to post upcoming events such a concerts, plays and fundraisers. The My Bulletin Space, alerts your personal network of friends to upcoming events. Both features are beneficial if trying to promote yourself or your band’s upcoming gig. Just browse through the site, many of these upcoming artists use myspace not only to promote, but to increase fan base and network with those in the business.
So for those of you still weary about joining MySpace, like I was at first, just think about it. After all, it is FREE, and that’s every college student’s favorite word. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that it can be addicting, but like coffee and soda isn’t everything OK if done in moderation? Well, have fun and see you on MySpace!
Renee Hassija can be reached at spotlight.sundial.csun.edu
