Are You a MySpace Jerk?

Have you ever had a friend on MySpace who was over-the-top and/or obnoxious? Worse yet, are you that MySpace friend who inspires loathing with your bulletins and posts?

Chances are, if you are one of these obnoxious MySpacers, you don't even know it. Perhaps you just need a shove in the right direction. The first step, however, is acknowledging your problem. Here are a few key signs that you're losing friends and influencing haters.

Incessant and mindless bulletins

Bulletins, in a perfect world, would be used sparingly. They would simply notify those on the user's friend's list when they've truly got something to share or say. New photos? By all means, let us know. Got a gig coming up? Bulletin away! Think brown rabbits are better than white? Put it in your blog, but save the bulletin for when the rabbit dies and you've really got something to talk about.

"Woe is me" behavior

Everyone knows an Eeyore. They post "woe is me" bulletins about how they aren't receiving enough comments from their friends or how nobody loves them. Then, when their friends bother to leave them a comment, they find something wrong with the comment and throw a fit. Nothing like a MySpace diva to rain on everyone's parade.

The MySpace Diva

More on that diva. Ever had one of those friends who, despite the fact that they weren't famous or well known, decided that they still wanted to act as such? Perhaps it's part of the "fake it til you make it" syndrome (which can be useful, if used correctly), but these MySpacers simply take it way too far. Even though they're living with three other roommates in a small flat and are working at McDonald's, they just simply can't be bothered with those that have bothered to friend them. While for some, it might be a well-intentioned case of, "I got a MySpace account, but don't do a lot with it," for others, it's just simple arrogance. They whine and complain when no one's giving them attention then fail to reciprocate that attention once its given. Take a hint guys: if you want to be a MySpace big shot, don't act like a big snot.

The comment-less comments

You know who you are. You can't be bothered to take the time to read a person's MySpace blog or bulletins, so what do you do? You go to a .gif site and find a "HELLO THERE!" gif that breaks up the comment page and potentially gives them and those who visit their page a virus. Hint: if you can't type out a friendly hello on your own without the help of a graphics artist you've never met, don't comment at all. Many users have disabled HTML comments for this very reason. Not to mention the virus and hacks that are uploaded with those graphics.

The bottom-line is: don't neglect commonsense just because you're suddenly behind a computer screen. If you use MySpace properly, you haven't got the anonymity screen to hide behind, so any behavior you engage in on MySpace will reflect on you personally. If you interact with your friends like they are fellow humans instead of bots or mindless fans (which, unless you are someone like Orlando Bloom, they're not - and word has it even he is kind to those who admire him), they'll be more likely to pay attention when you've got something to say and help you out when you've got something to promote.