How a Journalist Might Use Myspace to Report

By Juliette Pariente-Cohen
Student Reporter

www.Myspace.com is a social networking website that has allowed individuals all over the world to have access to online interactive multimedia. Once one has signed on to this free website, he or she automatically is able to create a webpage. This webpage gives the author access to a network of friends, personal profiles, photos, music, blogs and unlimited creative opportunities. A reader can cruise through musician’s personal profiles and upload music and videos onto a page, add celebrities as a personal friend and even take advantage of networking with potential clientele.

The opportunities are unlimited on Myspace. Politicians are even now taking advantage of this new social scene by creating their own pages and allowing potential supporters to comment and start groups on their behalf. But, it does not just stop there. Myspace has come so far that it cannot only make you, but it can break you. Because it is so easy to find any individual who has an account on the website, it gives companies easy access to a potential employee’s personal life. The way one presents themself in this website can be the deal-breaker in future employment opportunities.

From a journalistic perspective, Myspace offers the same opportunity that it offers companies who are sifting through potential employees. All a journalist needs to know is a first and last name or an e-mail address of a person. Once the journalist has that information, and if the person they are looking for has a webpage, they will be able to proceed with some very in-depth research on an individual they may be tracking for a report.

People on Myspace tend to write daily blogs, have personal pictures up and have a group of personal friends listed on their webpage. If one needs to learn a little more about the person, there is always the opportunity to discover a little more by talking to that individual’s friends. The person’s closer group of friends can be listed as his/her’s “ Top 8.”

Also, journalists can not only conduct research on a specific person, but also conduct research on a whole generation of individuals. Myspace is currently the world’s fifth most popular English language website, the fifth most popular website in any language and the third most popular website in the United States. On Sept. 8, 2006, there were 106 million accounts on Myspace . If any field studies need to be conducted on a generation of individuals, once can browse through certain age groups and find individuals to contact - or just observe.

Currently, Myspace a reported 230,000 new registrations per day. It is growing fast, and at this rate it may become the most popular site on the web.