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hongkongdmz · August 17th, 2006

So building your customer base slowly with Myspace as an option then. I wouldn't really want 100 strangers who werent actually interested in my company or my designs adding themselves to my Myspace account. But would you set it up in your name or the company name?

Thanks,

Nick.

Ferverwear · August 17th, 2006

I have set it up as a company name "Ferverwear." The cool thing is that I made a small slide show (complete with music I composed) that consistantly runs my top 12 products. You can also use the bullatin to send out anouncements to all of your "friends" at once telling them about a new promotion or product. I have the url that goes directly to the store all over the place. If you would like to see how my page looks, let me know and I'll give you the url to the myspace site. Or just type ferverwear into the myspace search. Good luck and take your time and I think you will be pleased.

Dr.Froth

hongkongdmz · August 17th, 2006

Sounds like a good idea Dr. Froth. Thanks for the advice....I may be trying it with my company. (Having a myspace account under my company name...not the music)

normalbrains · August 18th, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rodney


	I think networking and marketing can be done ethically and within a site's terms of service.

while it may be against the TOS, id have to disagree that ive done anything unethical. my myspace page provides a service to the regulars that use it everyday to converse with each other and receive entertainment. ive sent out two bulletins that resulted in 3 sales. Im sure several people deleted me as their friend (i noticed i was less 2 people within a half hour of the first bulletin) which is great. The shirts i sell are directly related to the subject of my myspace page. I dont see anything wrong with it.

p.s. rodney, i tried to add you to my personal myspace account a few months back and you didnt accept. now THATS unethical. jk.

BrownTurtle · August 18th, 2006

Yea, set it up in the Company name....it's been good marketing

Rodney · August 18th, 2006

Quote:


	while it may be against the TOS, id have to disagree that ive done anything unethical.

I would think in general, if it's against their TOS, it would be considered unethical.

Of course you, as the seller wouldn't see anything wrong with it, since it is benefiting your business. But the main problem I have an issue with is the mass adding of "friend" via an automated process and then sending those people commerical messages.

Quote:


	p.s. rodney, i tried to add you to my personal myspace account a few months back and you didnt accept. now THATS unethical. jk

Probably because I don't add people that I don't know because I don't want to be spammed or scammed

That probably is the opposite of the myspace philosophy and culture. I'll be the first to admit I still haven't "gotten it" yet when it comes to myspace.

Comin'OutSwingin · August 18th, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by normalbrains


	while it may be against the TOS, id have to disagree that ive done anything unethical. my myspace page provides a service to the regulars that use it everyday to converse with each other and receive entertainment. ive sent out two bulletins that resulted in 3 sales. Im sure several people deleted me as their friend (i noticed i was less 2 people within a half hour of the first bulletin) which is great. The shirts i sell are directly related to the subject of my myspace page. I dont see anything wrong with it. p.s. rodney, i tried to add you to my personal myspace account a few months back and you didnt accept. now THATS unethical. jk.

Hmm? Let me get this right. You AGREE to accept the conditions of the TOS of MySpace when you sign up, which includes no spamming.

But you don't think it's unethical to break this agreement because you are able to benefit by doing so?

Conversely, you deem it unethical for someone to decline your spammed invite.

I think someone needs an ethics class!

I believe MySpace can be a great marketing tool, IF USED PROPERLY. This also depends on your market.

It can also be a great way to brand your products. You may not get the direct sales, but you will gain some visibility.

I plan on using it as a marketing tool. But I certainly don't intend on spamming anyone.

Jasonda · August 18th, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rodney


	the main problem I have an issue with is the mass adding of "friend" via an automated process and then sending those people commerical messages.

Right now, Myspace is letting any business use the service for promotional, commercial use, and for free. Good for us, right? Maybe not.

What happens in the future, when too many people are using Myspace for that purpose, and regular Myspace users are inundated with commercial messages and automated "friend" spam all day long?

If the regular users (who are the majority) aren't happy, and they move to other social sites, Myspace will have to do something about it. I'm willing to bet that they will either start charging fees to business users, or limit their activity in some way.

The more people who are using the site unethically, the faster this will happen.

Just something to think about.

hongkongdmz · August 18th, 2006

Anything that helps business and is used for business pretty much negates most ethics. Using myspace for promotional purposes in the first place means you can use it however you wish until new rules or guidelines come along prohibiting them. There's little enforcement currently anyway. How many people in Myspace simply add themselves to another without knowing them? I can't see how a business would be that different. I'd agree with Jadsondas point 100% on this matter.

Rodney · August 18th, 2006

Quote:


	Anything that helps business and is used for business pretty much negates most ethics.

I disagree 100%. Spam, you lose credibility and business. Steal designs. Same thing.

Ethics and business should go hand in hand.

I've seen a LOT of businesses go down the drain by starting off on the wrong foot by thinking "anything goes" when it comes to marketing.

Quote:


	Using myspace for promotional purposes in the first place means you can use it however you wish until new rules or guidelines come along prohibiting them.

It's already against the TOS, Nick

So the rules are already there.

Quote:


	I think someone needs an ethics class!

Easy there, Greg

Quote:


	guess thats the power ofa free networking community such as myspace.

Let's bring this back to the topic of myspace as a promotional/networking tool. I think the ethics issue has been covered plenty

Rodney · August 18th, 2006

: posts removed :

Let's keep it on the topic of myspace as it pertains to networking and marketing, not forum or social network moderation please

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rodney


	Let's bring this back to the topic of myspace as a promotional/networking tool. I think the ethics issue has been covered plenty

normalbrains · August 18th, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Comin'OutSwingin


	you don't think it's unethical to break this agreement because you are able to benefit by doing so? Conversely, you deem it unethical for someone to decline your spammed invite. I think someone needs an ethics class!

please notice the "jk" after my previous statement. it stands for "just kidding". also, the invite was not "spammed". i was referred to him as a knowledgable source by somebody (i think the dude from MindTrix) before i even found this site. as far as myspace's TOS i dont really know what they are, but someone above stated they allow commerical use. i will read up on the TOS when i have time. what i do know is this: sending out bulletins for commercial promotion is absolutely THE NORM in the myspace community. I have many clothing companies as my "friends" and constantly receive bulletins from them promoting their new wares and deals. Also note that bulletins are NOT the same as messages (myspace emails). People use myspace for different reasons and people that want a private profile have that option. People can also just not add you as a friend in the first place. Inside every bulletin is a button that reads "delete from friends". Problem solved. It is extremely easy to get rid of unwanted friends. I dont think you guys that are criticizing this have a realistic view of what myspace is about. I love this forum and I think its full of great information, but on this issue i think you guys are giving out bad advice. I guess it comes down to TOS vs. the norm, and while i respect what youre saying totally, its not whats happening in real life.

On a separate issue, there are some great "groups" on myspace that you can join focusing on the clothing industry, screen printing, and entrepreneurship and anything else you can think of. a couple of them in particular are extremely helpful and informative. email me if youd like me to point them out.

allyn

hongkongdmz · August 19th, 2006

Maybe on myspace you could link up with other t-shirts companies. Like for me i'd look for urban and streetwear groups. Could also help with contacts and website links...so there are other options then using it as purely a marketing tool.

Nick.

Solmu · August 19th, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rodney


	I disagree 100%.

I agree with your disagreement 100%

Opt-in mailing lists (whether you're using MySpace to manage them, or some other method) don't pose any ethical dilemmas, and are an effective and mutually beneficial form of marketing (the customer gets information, perhaps discounts, etc. that they're interested in [hence signing up], and you get a receptive audience).

In theory MySpace should be useless because everything you can do on there (have a mailing list, communicate with buyers, offer information on your products) can be done elsewhere (website/mailing list/e-mail/chat program/blog with rss feed). You still need all the "elsewhere's", so MySpace just creates more work for you rather than replacing any of them. In practice, people like MySpace and some people can't be bothered going beyond it (my attitude: if it's not on the 'net I'm not interested, some people take that a step further: if it's not on myspace, I'm not interested). So having that information in one extra place is useful for your extra customers.

The distinction people are drawing, though I'm sure it's not worth discussing further, is whether or not your customers are coming to you, or you are forcing yourself on people who aren't (yet) your customers. Either way, MySpace is a useful tool to place information in front of people, and have yet another way people can get in contact with you to ask you questions. In theory it also raises your "cool factor".

Observing people I know who use MySpace accounts regularly it seems to be a razor thin line between adoration and ridicule. They use the service constantly, but they also make fun of everyone on it and the way people use it constantly. I think this is a fairly common attitude to the site - very love/hate. For now, the site is going strong - but I won't be at all surprised if one day the balance tips and being on MySpace is no longer perceived as a good thing (but hey, make hay while the sun shines).

Remember when LJ was cool?

How about GeoCities?

Compuserve?

The Well?

Yeah.

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