Thing 16 - Create your own MySpace profile; then, blog about it.

We've learned about online social networking. Now, we're taking our understanding to a new level and exploring MySpace.

Please note: Thing 16 has 2 Discovery Exercises. Please complete Discovery Exerice option 1 if you do not want to create a personal MySpace profile.

Nielsen ratings report that MySpace is the fastest growing web brand in the U.S. today. comScore Media Metrix measures and reports the details of online media usage, visitor demographics and other online consumber behavior. In 2006, they found that MySpace received more page views than Yahoo.

What does all of this mean for consumers, the future of the Internet and libraries?

Explore the Discovery Resources below and do one of the Discovery exercises.

Discovery Resources



Help - MySpace

How to modify your MySpace, Facebook, MSN Spaces or Hi5 - Tips from Growup Geek web site

How to Sign up for a MySpace Account - YouTube Video - 5:32 long

My-Space Help - Code and advanced help for those really serious MySpacers. NOTE: This is not the official MySpace help.

Take the MySpace Tour - the official MySpace tour with screen shots featuring the site's main functions.

Discovery Exercise (Option 1)

1. Take the MySpace Tour and explore MySpace Help; then read, watch or listen to at least two of the additional resources listed above.

2. Create a blog post about your MySpace experience. Here are some questions to get you started: Does it look easy? How do you feel about MySpace? Did your opinion(s) about MySpace alter after your exploring of the discovery resources? Why is MySpace so popular with so many different people? Do you want to try it now?

Discovery Exercise (Option 2)


NOTE: If you are using a staff computer to create your MySpace profile, you will often receive ActiveX pop-up messages. In many cases to proceed, you will need to right click on the yellow box and allow the pop-up.

1. Create a MySpace profile following these directions or using the MySpace Help:
Sign up. Select the "Sign Up" link on the MySpace homepage and fill out the sign up form.

• Edit Your Page: Start by clicking on the "Edit Profile" link. The next page will ask a lot of personal questions like who your hero is and what kind of music do you like. Answer only what you are comfortable having other people read about you. To answer one of these questions click the "Edit" button for that question, type in the answer, click the "Preview" button, then the "Submit" button. When you are finished, click on the link at the top of the page that says "View My Profile" to view your MySpace page.





• Post a photo of yourself, your cat or something else...you get the idea. Read the rules about what kinds of pictures you are allowed to upload. They don't allow pictures that have nudity, are sexually explicit, violent or offensive, or are copyrighted. They also request that you don't use photos that are of other people without first getting their permission.





• Here's how to post a photo: Select the "Browse" button, search for the image on your computer or network folder, and select the "Upload" button. If you don't want to add a photo to your MySpace account click the link underneath that says "Skip for now". You can always add your photo later if you want to.





• Give yourself some friends: Send emails to all your friends so they can sign up for MySpace too. If they already have a MySpace account they will be added to your friends list. If you're anti-social you can select the "Skip for now" link.





• If you want to you can change your account settings. Acount settings are such things as privacy settings, password, calendar settings, profile settings and away messages among other things. Click on "Account Settings" and you will see the list of settings that you can change. Go through and click on each one and change the settings to the way you want to manage your MySpace account. When you are finished click on "Change" at the bottom of the page.





• Add/Delete Friends: Click the link that says "Edit Friends". Put a check in the box next to the name of the friend you want to delete from your profile and hit the "Delete Selected" button. Now click on the "Home" link at the top of your page to go back to your editing page. Go back down to the "My Friend Space" box. There's a link in there that says "Invite Your Friends Here". This is the link you use to find new friends to add to your MySpace profile.





• MySpace Name: Select the link "Click Here" in the box that says "Pick your MySpace Name/URL!". This is where you will choose the address of your MySpace profile. The address is what you send to people so they can find your profile. Choose carefully, this will be your profile name. If you want people to be able to find you on MySpace using your real name then enter your name on the next page.





• Mail / Messages: This is where you check and manage your MySpace email. You have 4 options in this box: 1) check your inbox to see if you have any messages from your friends 2) view messages you have sent in the past 2 weeks (after that they are deleted) 3) check to see if anyone has responded to your friends requests 4) post a bulletin. A bulletin is a message sent to everyone in your friends list.





• OPTIONAL- Create a blog: MySpace also has a blogging feature. You can create your own blog or sign up to read the blogs of other people. If you want to start creating your own block, select"Manage Blog". On the blog editing page, you will see a box in the left column labled "My Controls". This is what you will use to create, edit and manage your blog. To create your first blog post click on "Post New Blog". Choose the date and time you want your blog entry to show up. Give your blog entry a title and choose a category for your entry. Write your blog entry adding colors and changing the way your post looks using the tools provided.
  At the bottom of the post page are some questions for you to answer. They want to know what you are doing right now, while you're posting your blog entry. They also want to know what kind of mood you are in or what kind of mood your blog entry portrays. You can allow or disallow comments to your post using a checkbox provided. There are privacy settings too so you can choose who can read your posts. When you're finished click on "Preview and Post". If you like the way it looks when you preview it then click on "Post Blog" to post your blog entry.





• OPTIONAL - Add some Music: Select the music link. You will find a small box of drop-down search menus you can use to find MySpace background music. All musical genres are represented here; you can search by artist, style, sounds like, etc. Once you find the artist you're looking for, select the artist's picture or name in the search results. If it's an official MySpace music page, there should be a red header across the top of the page with the words "MySpace Music." You should see a big gray box with music selections playing or ready to be played at the artist's MySpace profile. In order to add this artist's song to YOUR MySpace profile, click on the Add button right under your selected song. You'll be asked if you really want to add this song to your MySpace profile, and if the answer is yes, then click Add Song To Profile. When people go to your MySpace profile, they'll get MySpace background music.
  
  

2. Blog about your experience using MySpace. Here's some thoughts to get you started: Was it easy? Did you enjoy it? Why is MySpace so popular with so many different people?

Stay tuned! Next week, we learn about tagging, folksonomy and social bookmarking.