There I was, just browsing in my profile, catching up on a few comments, blogs, et cetera … and something caught my eye. A fellow MySpace performer had received a review that they decided to share. As you probably know, there are several ways this can be done – within a blog, which will send a notification to all your friends; a Bulletin, which is less intrusive but noticeable; or, in the case of this particular example, within a frame called Friend Updates. This section appears in your page, or you can access it as a whole screen through the toolbar at the top of your page, under the “Friends” menu. Hover the cursor over “Friends,” select “Friend Updates” from the dropdown menu, and it’ll take you to the listing. As far as I can tell from my own experience, the screen provides updates that have occurred during the past five days. Updates can consist of many things – for example, you’ll see notification that someone has posted new photos to their profile and you can take a look with a simple click of a link; or perhaps someone has added a new song to their profile, or a video. You’ll even find mention of who’s become friends with who (or is it whom). You might even see yourself – as I did in one of a series of newly-uploaded photos from the Dewey Beach Music Conference in Delaware last month.

And sometimes opportunity will come knockin’.

In this case, it was in the form of a review. One of my esteemed friends had received a glowing review for their latest CD, and they had posted the review, including the link to the original source. I clicked on the link and discovered a reviewer I’d never heard of, someone who just might appreciate my music as well. I’ve made a note of the link and plan to contact the writer. Then, perhaps soon, another MySpace musician will see this writer’s link connected with a review I’ve received, thereby perpetuating traffic for the reviewer as well as informing more readers of my product.

Another opportunity is a performer’s mention of a recent or upcoming show. Any musician worth his salt will include all the info that’s fit to print about the venue. Check it out, maybe it’s a place that would be suitable for you and yours. You may get a gig, the venue will get increased word of cyber-mouth, everyone’s happy. Still another unexpected source of interaction is a link to a music festival or conference, such as the aforementioned Dewey Beach Music Conference. Click on the link for the conference, and you’ll learn all about the conference itself, when it takes place, submission instructions, whether you might participate in future events, and so on. Then, as in the post for this conference, there’s GoGirls Music.com, the group that posted the photos in the first place to promote their showcase. Check out these pix, and you can learn about the conference, the GoGirls Music group, and the individual artists who were part of the show. See an interesting artist you think you may want to share a gig with someday? Contact them, send them a Friends invite, talk about future gig plans. I could go on and on.

Keep a notepad handy as you browse the Friend Updates section. You never know where their fresh information may lead you.