Myspace Article
Maintaining a Professional Appearance on MySpace
MySpace is an online community which can be a fun way for members to meet new
friends, reconnect with old friends or make romantic connections. MySpace
members who are interested in pursuing these types of activities online are free
to create a website which reflects their personality. This will help others to
understand who they are and to learn more about their preferences.
Although MySpace offers all of these fun entertainment type activities, there
are some members of MySpace who utilize the community for business purposes.
They may use MySpace to network, make business connections or to promote their
business. In these cases care should be taken to create a MySpace website that
is attractive and interesting while maintaining a professional appearance.
Avoid Slang and Abbreviations
One way to maintain a professional appearance on a MySpace website is to avoid
the use of slang or abbreviations. Many MySpace websites feature slang,
abbreviations and terms which are not grammatically correct. While this type of
Internet language may be entertaining and may be considered acceptable among
members of the community, this type of writing is not likely to appeal to
potential customers or business partners. Additionally, not everyone understand
the cryptic language often used on message boards, text messages and emails and
those who do not understand may have trouble reading the information presented
on the website.
Keep the Design Tasteful
As previously mentioned, those who are using MySpace strictly for entertainment
purposes can design a website according to their personal preferences. This may
include unusual fonts, garish colors, offensive images and blaring background
music. While this type of design may provide a great deal of insight into an
individual’s personality it is not a good idea for a business related website.
Therefore those who are using their website for promotion of a business should
create a more tasteful design.
There are a few generic tips which can make a website appear more professional.
The use of muted colors that complement each other can make a website
aesthetically appealing. Users are more likely to spend time on websites with
these types of color combinations because it is soothing. Additionally, the use
of a common font type and size which makes reading the text simple is
recommended. The use of background music should also be avoided in professional
websites as many users either do not have speakers or may view the website in a
location where they do not want to hear music.
Avoid Embarrassing Photos
Finally, special consideration should be given to the use of photos on a website
which is striving to maintain a professional appearance. While those who are
using MySpace for entertainment purposes only may opt to plaster their website
with embarrassing pictures of them and their friends, those who have business
intentions should use photos more judiciously.
The photos used on a business website should invoke a professional sentiment.
This may include posed photos of the website owner in a dignified location,
landscape photographs or pictures of products sold by the company. Alternately
those who are using MySpace to promote products or services might consider not
using images as at all. Whether or not pictures are used on a website is a
matter of personal preference but when they are used, care should be taken to
ensure they contribute to the overall design of the website rather than distract
from it.
