How to Become Famous on MySpace

After doing some online research, I'm surprised by the number of people who want to become famous on MySpace, who ask others how to do it, and how little information there is on how to achieve such a feat.

The general process is a simple one, but time consuming, and the odds of actually becoming famous are slim. But to feed your need for information, here's how:

Decide why you want to become famous.

There is little sense in chasing something this big if you don't have a good reason to do so. Also, I must add that if you do not have a talent or unique qualities, there is no point in going any further because fame hardly ever comes to those who are 'ordinary'. If you don't have something worth people's time and attention, they probably will not give that to you.

And if you do have a talent, there is no guarantee that you will become famous for it. There are many other people in this world who may possess the same talent or skill you do, and you must prove to be better than the rest of them. Can you do that?

Create a MySpace profile.

I know what you're thinking - 'Thank you, Captain Obvious' - but sometimes one needs to state the obvious in order to create a complete guide on a subject.

Go to MySpace and create a profile if you haven't already. If you're an artist/band, create one for that. Otherwise, make it a personal profile.

Design your page.

Make your profile unique, something that shows off who you are and what you do.

Please do not post quizzes and other crap like that on your page. It's useless junk that is not going to help you.

Add your friends.

Search for your real life friends and add them. Put your 'posse' in your Top 8 (or whatever number you choose). If they're your real friends, they'll do the same for you.

Meet new people.

Search for people who have the same interests with you and add them. Talk to them. Comment on their stuff. Build friendships.

Your fame depends on your network, so keep building it.

Post photos, videos, blogs, and/or music.

Give your friends a reason to come back to your page and comment on your stuff. Make sure it's good- it should be either useful or entertaining, or, if you have a lot of friends who want to get to know you better, an insight as to who you are. Post new content regularly.

Be yourself.

Do NOT try to be someone you're not. People will find out sooner or later, and the final result is not a good one.

Advertise your MySpace page.

If you have a website, post a link to your profile where your visitors will see it. Also, link to it in your email and forum signatures, etc. This is a great way to get your name out there.

Keep going.

Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither is fame. You need to keep building and extending your brand to include people everywhere. Just when you think you're big, think again- you're probably not. Just because you have 10k friends doesn't mean you're famous. Keep posting. Keep networking. Keep chatting with new (as well as old) friends. It may take years to achieve MySpace fame, if you do at all, so don't be disappointed if you're not famous a couple months down the road. Just keep going.

When chatting with others..

Reply to everyone you can. This shows you are an active member of the community and people aren't wasting their time commenting on your page. Be nice, and don't pick fights.

When someone constructively criticizes you, thank them for their comment and consider what they have to say. Sometimes they may be right, sometimes they may not. Keep an open mind and try not to become offended.

Do NOT take part in petty arguments. You have better things to waste your time on, and it looks bad. Period.

Take caution..

Be careful about what you say and what information you share with others. Anything you put online can be found, sometimes by people you don't want knowing that info.

Believe me, I've lost a job because of a rant I posted on MySpace. I didn't intend to keep the job, and I had a very good reason to rant about it, but it could have ended up in a lawsuit if I didn't delete it. I was lucky- not everyone comes off clean like I did.

And if you haven't heard about all the sex offenders, identity thieves, and other criminals patrolling the internet, you're way behind the curve. Do your research. DO NOT POST ANYTHING THAT COULD COME BACK TO HURT YOU ON THE INTERNET.

With that said.. GOOD LUCK!