these are just my tips and ideas if you are interested in starting a new myspace site.
1. Have a catchy, original name. I would recommend avoiding names that contain glamourous, whoa, woah, or razzle dazzle. these names are extrememly overused. i think i've seen 3 different razzle dazzle sites. once you've found a name you like search to see if the name is in use. make sure you search display names and first names.
2. if you are going to offer layouts, KNOW HOW TO MAKE LAYOUTS! do not ask lots of sites to help you make layouts. most of them do not have time. they have a site of their own, school, and a life. some sites may help you. you can ask. it's doesn't hurt to try. google is the best way to learn anything. if you want to know how to make something, then google it. there are also html/css coding books in libraries.
3. if you do not know how to make layouts, then you should not start a layout site. you can google css stylesheet editing.
4. do not jock or steal. that is mean, wrong, and illegal. some people spend a lot of time making the things they offer on their site. they will get really angry if you take their hard work and claim it as your own. if you want to use something a site has, ask them first. if they say yes, then you must give them credit. rotating a background and removing the credit does not make it yours. changing the colors in a stylesheet does not make it your own!
5. be original and offer variety. be creative. people will keep coming back to your site to see what new things you offer.
6. if you offer layouts, make your own backgrounds, or at least most of them. try not to make all your layouts with backgrounds from tiny pic or photobucket. they make seem cute, but if 1000 sites have the same layouts, it doesn't seem so cute anymore.
6. Have a good photo editing program. Photofiltre is free to download. You can get a 30 day trial of both Photoshop (adobe.com) and Paint Shop Pro (corel.com). the 30 day trials can be fun to experiment with. you want the full versions of these programs, you have to purchase them or someone who has purchased it. *if you know the right websites, you can find the full versions of these programs online. they are free to download. it will take a lot of seaching, but you can find them).
7. give credit where it is due! if you borrow someone's stylesheet (after you've gotten permission), then you must credit them. you were not the one who created it, they were. if you borrow an idea, then credit the original person who thought of that idea.
8. Have things to offer on your site before you start adding people. people are going to want to see what you offer. if you don't have anything on your site, they might delete you right away.
9. Friend counts don't mean everything! It doesn't matter if you have 5 friends of 10,000 friends. Your site will be more valuable if you have creative, original content. Remember quality not quantity. remember, you are making a site because you love to make things, and you want people to use your stuff. if your stuff sucks, people aren't going to use it.
10. s4s is not the hottest craze anymore. some sites completely refuse to do it. some sites will do it all the time. some sites may only do is on the weekends. read a sites' rules before asking to s4s. you may find that you can not find any sites to support you because you only have 34 friends. in that case, you have to get friends yourself. i recommened supporting your site on your personal account, because you are going to get a lot of personals who you might want to site model. i also recommend adding people from other sites' friends. that way you know that they do add sites and they may add yours to see what you offer. yes, you will have to add each person one by one, but if you want friends, then that's what you need to do. i think that is the best way to get friends because you can add people who you think would use your things. then, eventually, you will start to meet limits, so you can s4s with other sites.
11. know the html code to place an image on your site. there is nothing more annoying then having all your images linked to photobucket or tiny pic because you just copy and paste the code.
12. do not require a last name to add your site. but, if you are under 16 years old (14 or 15), it is mandatory for anyone over the age of 16 to know your last name to add you. so, place your last name in your headline. if you don't want to it be your personal last name, then make it part of your site's name. like my site name is turniphead. i would make the last name head.
13. have a working message, comment and block link/button. i can not stress how important this is. comments are public reading. messages are private. even though comments are hidden, you can still read them. there is no way you can read someone's messages unless you hack into their account.
14. google is your best friend. you can find anything and everything on google. if you can find what you're looking for, rephrase the words.
14.not all sites with over 10,000 friends are mean and stuck up. talk to them, not suck up to them, and you will see.
