BUSINESS
March,15 Thursday 2007

MySpace, My Music (1/3)
With a new mainstream appeal, MySpace aims to become the online community of choice.

MySpace.com isn't just for teens

"MySpace me" is replacing "e-mail me." And more and more the website best known for its teenage users is growing up.

MySpace.com seems to be everyone's favorite hangout at least for the 83 million, and counting, members it says it has. For teens, it's the online social network for chatting, surveys, music and keeping up with what's going on around town.

But young adults are flocking to the site for more than just online diaries. In fact, Nielsen//Net Ratings says the site is ranked No. 15 on the entire U.S. Internet in terms of page hits .

The new Google?
Delinda Pushetonequa, a 24-year-old self-professed MySpace addict, logs on almost every day. "MySpace is the new cell phone, the new interactive e-mail, the new Google.com," says Pushetoneque, known online as Jumping Coffee Bean.

"It's a way to keep in touch or meet new people," she says. "Most of the people I meet on MySpace are either people I already know or haven't seen in years or who have the same interests I do."

Pushetoneque does use the site for chatting and keeping in touch with friends, but she also says MySpace is a great place to find out about musicians, artists and independent businesses."More and more people seem to be appreciating non-corporate businesses and individuals, and MySpace is a wonderful networking and advertising tool."

The site was honored with a Webby (the online version of the Academy Awards). MySpace took home the award for Webby "Breakout of the year," with its membership growing by the millions every month and the site reportedly attracting 1.5 billion hits each day.

Dara Sims, promoter for .downplay productions, knows the power of MySpace bulletins, one of the quickest ways to promote on the site. Bulletins are announcements that go to everyone on a member's friends' list. People post events, surveys, invitations and more. It's a virtual flier word spreads quickly among friends, their friends and so on.

Vocabulary Focus
hangout (n) --- a place where someone spends a lot of time or where they live
network (n) --- a system that helps you relate to a lot of people, especially those who may have similar interests, or who may give information that can help you
flock (v) --- to move or gather together in large numbers
interactive (adj) --- describing a system or computer program which is designed to involve the user in the exchange of information
promote (v) --- to advertise something in order to sell it

Specialized Terms
hit (n) --- 点击次数 a request made by a computer to a web