I Hate MySpace Sites

It always surprises me how fast time passes. I can't believe it's already been 5 days since I last posted.

I Hate MySpace Sites

In case you've been living underneath a rock for the past year, MySpace sites are a very popular craze right now. I know virtually nothing about MySpace and MySpace sites, but I'll comment on what I do know.

MySpace sites are MySpace resource sites that usually offer some type of content or service, usually such as backgrounds, layouts, or other bits of crap. Like MySpace, they are usually ugly and don't really offer anything useful. MySpace webmasters, whom I will hereon refer to as Space Rangers, then litter their sites with either AdSense or YPN.

They then will send bulletins to thousands of 'friends', essentially spamming them. Surprisingly, or perhaps not so surprisingly since people who use MySpace are morons, a fairly large % of people click on the links contained in the bulletin and then proceed to click with a high CTR on the adverts on the Space Rangers' sites.

How do the Space Rangers get so many friends? Oh, through various means. Many use automated scripts/bots which basically spam/auto-add people. Many people buy names off of other people, and I've even heard of a guy hacking/stealing people's accounts by setting up a fake website getting people to enter their passwords.

No matter the way people are getting their 'friends', they are essentially spamming them. I have an immense hatred for Space Rangers. They are making an absolute KILLING, and I don't use that term lightly, by taking advantage of the sheer size of MySpace, the stupidity of the members, and worst of all, spamming them. Quite frankly, I'm very surprised these SpaceRangers make so much money.

Now, most web entpreneurs in my 'circle', my circle being peers who are around my level of webmaster experience and income, are SpaceRangers, and many people may say that I am either jealous and/or stupid (for not becoming a SpaceRanger and making dough until SpaceCamp ends).

Let me rebut to that. I won't deny that I may be slightly jealous of how much SpaceRangers are making - did I mention how much yet? Many are making between $300 and $800 a day. But then again, I would never join the ranks and become a SpaceRanger for the following reasons:

1. I Have Morals

I just won't do anything that I don't feel comfortable with. And I don't feel good about making money off of spamming people.

To be honest, I view SpaceRangers not much different than WareZ sites or Porn. Not that WareZ sites, or even porn for that matter, make a whole of money these days. But with porn, at least that's not harming anyone.

"It's only bulletins Tyler, calm down".

No, it's not. It's spam.

"But a lot of people like it. They even bookmark my site."

Ah, but what about all those who don't like like it? Too bad for them? What you're doing is no different than those LONGER ERECTIONS and FREE UNIVERSITY DIPLOMA e-mail spams everyone gets.

2. This Won't Last Forever

This MySpace thing is only temporary. It is not a long term solution. MySpace will eventually wisen up and crack down on all the spam and such, because it will only get worse. Also, I'm sure that the advertising agencies including AdSense and YPN will eventually not allow their ads to be on the Interplanetary Sites of SpaceRangers. Many SpaceRangers expicitely violate terms such as falsifying their page so that ads look like links to other content on the site - yes, this violates their terms. There's a fine line there.

And many people are riding off of YPN. Obviously YPN is guaranteed to plummit once it's out of beta.

It's interesting because I see and hear so many SpaceRangers suddenly seem so big and confident because they're making half a grand a day. They suddenly think they are all that and a can of beans. They think they are as good as me. Just kidding, a bit of levity there for you kids :)

But kidding aside, they are really putting themselves into a false sense of success, as they are not engaging in true hard work and reward, but are more like hitting the sweetness of a temporary monetary pinata.

3. Bad Habits, Good Experience Lost

While the SpaceRangers are busy adding 12-year-old children to their lists, they are essentially cashing in any past good habits they may have had, for new bad ones. Again, they may start to get into a false sense of security and success, thinking that something like MySpace will always be around for them to rely on. They will then ingrain bad habits, such as depending on things such as mass bulletins, 'free mass traffic', and inflated CPC rates.

Apart from any bad habits gained, SpaceRangers will be losing valuable experience. The time they spent adding a new MySpace background to their site, they could be learning new and useful SEO techniques, better PHP, better site ad management, marketing techniques, and just overall becoming a more robust entrepreneur.

4. I don't know MySpace

I don't know MySpace, and I'm not interested in it. I could learn, it wouldn't take long, but again I have no interest in it. And that would go against my utopian ideals of being a web entrepreneur. That is, I love what I do and I try to only do things and make sites on things that interest me.

5. There's More To Be Made than Money

There's more to be made from websites than just money. There are countless of priceless things. Friends, knowledge, contacts in the industry, respect, and giving back to the community.

Now, there's only one thing that people can say about my view on this: "Even though you hate MySpace sites, why don't you just join in anyway for a few months and make the $500 a day until you've made $50,000 or so and then stop and put that money into other things?"

I don't have a good response to that under than: "First off, MySpace sites are hit and miss. Not all sites make money. It's not guaranteed, of course. Secondly, I'll refer you to points 1, 3, and 5 above. Lastly, I'm a stubborn person. Or sometimes I just stand up for what I believe in. Whatever you want to call it... but I don't want to add to the crap on the Internet by joining in. There's far too much crap on the Internet now as it is.

It's time somebody started cleaning it up with good, high quality, useful sites.

Rawr.