Myspace has received a bad rep over it’s short life. People using it the wrong way often pay with lost jobs, stalkers or worse. Over 60% of employers say they use Mysapce to check up on current and future employees and that number will increase another 20% in the coming years. However, is there a good side to Myspace that could help us as freelancers? You bet! I have tested this to see just what would happen if I used Myspace only to promote my work, network and share the ideas related only to my business and not my personal life.

To Myspace or not to Myspace

Myspace is that extra feature that every freelancer should take advantage of especially for the networking opportunity. You know that list of marketing opportunities you should have? Myspace should be on it. There are many positives that have been cast aside due to negative press over the years. But, when used correctly, Myspace can do wonders for your freelance career.

What is the correct way to use Myspace?

Photos 

Leave your private photos of drunken nights out, friends acting strange and anything you wouldn’t want to be used against you on your hard drive. Putting these things out there just calls for trouble even if you aren’t a freelancer. Only put photos relevant to what you do and use the albums wisely.

•  Break up your albums into categories for your portfolio…i.e. Graphic Design, Websites, Logos, and Photography.

• Photos of yourself are ok, but keep them professional and business oriented. Maybe post photos of a conference you went to.

Blog

I can’t tell you the number of times I go to random people’s Myspace pages only to see an enormous amount of bad photos, bad design, bad music and no real content. These people check their Myspace everyday for something, I just don’t know what. One feature that is often left out is the blog. Myspace conveniently offers this great feature to share your news and thoughts and some people either don’t use it, or use it the wrong way. I only blog about topics relevant to art or my freelancing. I update with my latest projects, problems that I fix, design ideas, latest trends and technology, and anything to start a conversation about the area. I don’t rant about the boss I hate, the late night I had, or random acts of drunkeness. No one would think I even drank from seeing my Myspace, and that’s the right foot to put forward. Blogs are a great way to write about what you know and share your talents with the world.

Design

If you are anywhere in the freelance design field your Myspace page is just another realm to display your talents. I’m a designer for all things including the web, so my Myspace page reflects this. Not only will it garner requests for new work if you make your page stand out, it will get you noticed because all the Myspace pages out there are template and theme based. Coding for Myspace is hard, but you can make tweaks to improve it both visually and content wise.

So there you have it! A few tips and areas to correctly use Myspace. Be aware of what you put out there because once it’s on the web, it can and will be used against you. Free speech allows you to post and blog, but nothing protects you from the consequences of doing it. Being responsible for the content you put on your page will do wonders for your freelance career or any career for that matter. Welcome the networking and show off your talents and expertise through Myspace..the right way! View my Myspace page to see these tips in action.