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.
