Part 2: Social Networking - You can never have too many friends

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Although there were many before, and there will surely be countless after, MySpace was the first major social networking success story. The MySpace service was launched in August 2003 and after almost exactly 4 years it is home to 114,1 million users and is considered the largest and most successful social networking site in the world. According to Alexa, MySpace is also the 6th most popular website in the world (superseded only by Yahoo!, MSN, Google, YouTube and Windows Live).

The website allows users to subscribe (free of charge), set up a profile and begin their online life. Although it doesn't merely offer users a static corner of the web - users are encouraged to connect and interact with one another, not merely exist.

It is a platform for friends and family members, people that share similar interests, people looking for love, and business people looking for networking opportunities.

Profile Creation
MySpace allows users to customise their profiles, but requires basic HTML to get creative with the profiles. Online profile generators are the quickest way to get a snappy profile up and running. Users choose their setting in a WYSIWYG generator, and then copy and paste a code into their account details.

MySpace Mingling
MySpace offers users a chance to mingle amongst the multitude of other users and connect with their friends, or make new ones via filtered searches, or just by browsing. To become friends, both users need to provide consent before they are able to interact on a more personal level.

Functionality
The website has a host of features to get users clicking and interacting including:

Pictures and Video: MySpace lets subscribers upload their own images and videos
Instant Messenger: An additional chat applet
Bulletins: Allows users to post notices which are visible to all their friends
Groups: Users can join or create special interest groups with like-minded individuals
Blog: Every profile has its own blog section

Tom Anderson is MyFriend
Tom Anderson has become an icon of Generation Y. Every new subscriber gets a welcome note, and their first friend free: Tom Anderson. Tom's profile picture has not changed for years, and has been parodied and 'Photoshopped' to all ends, making Tom a hot topic not only on MySpace, but also mainstream media.

Marketing Phenomenon
MySpace not only lets users keep in touch, but it also provides a platform for artists to promote their work. MySpace has dedicated sections for musicians, film makers and comedians and has had several success stories when it comes to these areas. Largely driven by music MySpace is an excellent platform for bands, they even have their own record label, MySpace Records. Many artists have found success on MySpace, while many other already successful artists like Madonna are using it to promote new albums, tours etc. Marketing upcoming movies is also exceptionally popular on MySpace - generating buzz around an artist, blockbuster or even a small indie group that records from their parent's garage has never been quite so easy.

There are many employee networks on MySpace like the Walmart employees group. Companies clearly need to start monitoring what is said about them by their employees and by the public (the Boycott Walmart group illustrates this point).

MySpace is a great place for advertisers as their ads can be focussed specifically on their target markets (MySpace offers direct ad sales). The traditional messages won't work with this audience - marketers are going to have to get seriously creative if they want to harness the power that this social network can bring.

While adverts on all social networking sites can be well targeted they tend to have very low click-through rates so if you're interested in utilising this medium be sure to keep this in mind and to buy your space wisely.

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