Thank You Falettinme Be MySpace

I’m still not entirely sure why I’m doing this, but I’ve joined the yoof at last by setting up a MySpace page [original mirrored here]. It’s early days yet; I actually registered a month ago but only put some stuff in place yesterday. That was waiting for me to convert some mp3s into full-blown videos, because I hadn’t realised that you have to have a musician account to post mp3s. (The recordings are from a collection of fourteen made at the end of April at my friends’ home studio. The plan is to put together a whole album’s worth, but that needs at least another recording session, probably two.)

So, there it is. Add me to your friends for some reciprocal cross-linking, if you’re into that kind of thing. It’s really the only point in having it, after all—it sure isn’t for the stunning web design and table-free XHTML. That, and wanting to be Rupert Murdoch’s helpless pawn:

About me: I have a proper website, but because of MySpace’s linking policies can’t publicise its URL here, so you’ll have to google my first name and click through the first few links instead. I can’t even tell you my last name apparently, because I might be fourteen and have to be protected from creepy internet strangers. Actually I’m 38, which makes me a creepy internet stranger. Here, kiddies, listen to my lovely poems.

If you read their terms and conditions, this is true, at least for personal accounts: you can’t put your surname or URL anywhere in the profile or in uploaded videos (they rejected my first attempts with credits at the end). People do it all the time, though, so it feels a bit stupid to observe the rule, especially as anyone visiting from here will know perfectly well who it is. So that blurb probably won’t last long.

Next stop: YouTube.

Six hours later: Pulled the MySpace videos already, and put a YouTube version in their place instead. I’m having second thoughts about The Flamingo—want to change a few things before that goes back up.

21 August 2006 · Site News

Is that you doing the reading?

I've listened to "The Vulture" and am mildly creeped. Which I imagine is the point. Just as well I'm not 14.

I have a MySpace, but there's nothing on there because I haven't got round to it.

Added by K on 23 August 2006.

Yep, that’s me, doing my finest Richard E. Grant Gothic. I should get a couple of different ones up so that people don’t assume that’s how I talk. Maybe the Cockney geezer one, or the outrageous Aussie.

Having done this I can now see, at least a little more, the value of MySpace for anyone over the age of 21. (The social networking value for anyone under 21 was always obvious.) I added a bunch of comedians and musicians to my friends, and already have learnt of some new CDs that I’d like to hear. Plus some of them do actually use the blogging feature, and it’s easier to keep track of those if you’re a member yourself.

I’m still thinking about how to make my own profile something that people would want to visit more than once. I don’t want to blog there and not here, and recycling the posts from Speedysnail onto MySpace seems a bit laborious. But maybe I should try that for a while.

Added by Rory on 24 August 2006.


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