Domain Social Forums

I think you have to be very open about being a business on MySpace and it certainly doesn't hurt to have a 'personal' page as well so people can see that you're not just trying to hop on the bandwagon.

RFL1986 Wrote:I think you have to be very open about being a business on MySpace and it certainly doesn't hurt to have a 'personal' page as well so people can see that you're not just trying to hop on the bandwagon.

Having a personal page on MySpace is probably the smartest way to go. Blog about your business activities and goals as a way of sharing, and maybe someone will check out your e-commerce sites.

I just don't see a good return trying to actually sell anything there!

Side conversation: I just talked to a European friend that plays gigs in Europe and put his performance schedule on his My Space site. He was visiting family in the states and had booked a few small performances. On his way into the states from Canada, the border patrol noticed his equipment, looked him up on My Space (by name), and deported him back to France because he did not have an artist's visa!

The power of the internet - that marketing did the job too well for this artist!

jazzgrrl Wrote:Side conversation: I just talked to a European friend that plays gigs in Europe and put his performance schedule on his My Space site. He was visiting family in the states and had booked a few small performances. On his way into the states from Canada, the border patrol noticed his equipment, looked him up on My Space (by name), and deported him back to France because he did not have an artist's visa!

The power of the internet - that marketing did the job too well for this artist!

This is why it is always wise to use aliases online. Keep your real-time identity separate from your online identities to slow down all that cross linking, where possible.

I haven't spent a lot of time on MySpace, but I've been a little surprised at some of the high profile musical artists and entertainers who have pages.

I know someone who has a MySpace account as part of a long term plan for marketing.

I agree with SageMother regarding what jazzgrrl told about the European friend. I can't believe the border patrol check MySpace.

Wow, that's a wild story. The hard part is, if you're in a band or you're an artist of some sort then it's pretty difficult to separate your 'online identity' from your real one through venues such as MySpace.

I agree with Sage Mother.... I am writing articles for one special website and I asked not to use my real name. For me it is just better to keep it in the low because I have a very uncommon name, so if I use it, chances are it is ME... And I want to protect my identity.

Yep not just myspace, lots of options out there

It's a valid concern for sure. I always ensure that my clients don't publish my real name unless I'm 100% sure that I want my identity associated with the work. I have a distinctive name as well so I'm not keen on using it online.