Wednesday, March 14, 2007

My Space

A question I recently posed to one of my ListServes regarding virtual book tours eventually became an arguement over My Space.
Some say it is a great way to reach a lot of people. They point to bands & celebrities who have a My Space, saying it is the great way to reach fans.
Others say spending time on one of these virtual communities has yet to prove itself in sales. They say that My Space is a bunch of teenagers looking for something for free.
The discussion has been going on for two days now, and it does bring up some interesting questions. With any advertising, one has to weigh cost versus profit. Since My Space is free, there is no dollar cost, but building up a network in any online community takes time. So basically, how much is one's time worth?
To me, My Space is like people wandering the mall. Other than all being in the mall, they have nothing in common - therefore, there is nothing to draw them together. It's just a random selection of people. Which also means there are a great many undesirables.
Think I'll just skip the My Space.

3 comments:

Mike Douglas said...

I don't do MySpace, so I don't have any direct experience, but I've been there plenty looking at people's pages and it seems huge and somewhat obnoxious. I think your "wandering the mall" analogy is right on the money, and I don't see how you'd ever be able to focus on and reach your target in that place. In my view, you're wise to stay away. It would be a waste of your efforts.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Amen!
I love the Deviant Art community, because everyone there is an artist.
And it's tough in a place as big as MySpace to find a group with whom to connect. Plus there's lots of weirdoes! Had a My Space, dumped it because of one of those weirdoes showed up at a local book signing. I don't need a stalker!

Mike Douglas said...

hmmm... I hadn't thought of that. MySpace is known for being dangerous because of stalkers and such... another good reason to leave it alone.