Myspace

Perception is reality.  But a real reality is much better than a perceived reality.

Hypothetical situation:

You have 28,459 friends on Myspace.

How many of those friends are actual fans?  Would go to a show?  Would buy your music?  Would tell one of their friends how amazing you are?

I've been guilty of it.  Spending hours adding random people.  And it feels good.  To pad the friend list.  But what does it actually accomplish?

Wouldn't my time be better spent writing a song that people have to talk about because they love it so much?  Do I really need to be "friends" with someone who could care less about my music and just counts me as another notch on their "I have more friends than you" belt?

No.  I don't.  But it's so tempting.  To troll myspace and add page after page of friends from a record label or another band or a music magazine or a radio station.  It's so tempting.

Just focus, Glynn.

Make music.  Have fun.  Be honest.  Genuinely interact with people.  Play live shows.  Draw people to your page, but let them make the decision.  Because a voluntary friend is that much closer to becoming an actual fan than a coerced friend.

And don't ever feel as if you have to apologize for not "playing the game".  Success is relative, and certain lines in the sand should never be crossed.  You hate SPAM, right?  You hate when a random band adds you, right?  Then don't add to the cycle.  Everything doesn't have to be a popularity contest.