Myspace Profiles 2.0: What Changed, What's the Same

Myspace recently changed to Myspace Profile 2.0. As a Myspace member, and I've been one for a few years now, I've not been very impressed with Myspace. I suppose for a kid, Myspace has some of the things kids want or need, but the problem is, Myspace is being used by a lot more than just kids, and the features and 'babysitting' feature of Myspace is just not up to web standards.

In an effort to upgrade and update a site that hadn't had an essential site change in all the years I've been a Myspace member, Myspace has revealed Profile 2.0.

With Profile 2.0 on Myspace, Myspace members can now make individual sections of their profile private or public. Myspace's original profile settings only allowed you to make the entire profile private or the entire profile public. Now, Myspace Profile 2.0 lets users pick and choose different parts of the profile to make public, which can be seen by friends only, and which ones are private.

Blogs now allow Myspace users to have the blog public while the profile or parts of the Profile 2.0 are private, or, as always, the blog can be private (diary/journal), public, or friends only, regardless of the settings on Myspace Profile 2.0.

Additionally, Myspace Profile 2.0 moves where the CSS (customized/cascading style sheet) code is applied to create the new Profile 2.0.

Recently, I've read a lot of blogs and questions and bulletins about what's going on with Profile 2.0, so I thought I'd write this article to clear up some of the questions.

First, when you switch to Myspace Profile 2.0, you will lose all the formatting you've done on your original profile. You can always revert back, but you probably need to learn to use Profile 2.0 on Myspace, because I wouldn't be surprised if the old profile format is eventually deleted.

Tom reports on this blog that there are over 90 themes available in Myspace Profile 2.0, and more will be added. However, what Tom doesn't let you know is that Myspace Profile 2.0 doesn't require that you use one of the basic or standardized themes offered. Those are just there for people who don't want to mess with the layout code. It's important to note that some of the old Myspace layout sites' code will not work on Myspace Profile 2.0, because it was designed for the old layout.

The CSS code (the layout code you use) is no longer added to your 'about me' box or other boxes. Instead, there is a place on the 'edit profile' link that was specifically made to place your Myspace Profile 2.0 layout code.

One of the neat new features for Myspace Profile 2.0 is that the new Profile 2.0 Myspace layouts can now be three column layouts, where Myspace profile layouts for the original Myspace profiles were only two column layouts.

Myspace Profile 2.0 layouts code also allows the use of some limited Flash code for your Myspace layout, allowing members to have more dynamic Web 2.0 type experiences. Thus the name: Profile 2.0.

Lastly, Myspace Profile 2.0 layouts will allow for an 'Activities Module' on your profile page that will list your friend updates on your layout, so you and your other friends can easily keep up with each other and recent friend activity. Tom assures us on his blog that you will only share what you choose on your own profile to share with the public, and your friends can't share things you've marked as private on their public blogs.

If you're looking for Myspace Profile 2.0 codes, there are several sites popping up to be the first to offer new Myspace layout codes for Profile 2.0. A simple search on any search engines will reveal millions of hits for Myspace layout codes, for the original profile design and the new Profile 2.0 design. If your Myspace layout code is not working, try switching from Profile 2.0 and back again, and one of them should work for you.