The MySpace Generation

They live online... They buy online... They play online... Their power is growing

What do people do on MySpace?
They redecorate their Myspace pages, called a "profile" by adding new pictures (often sexy). They spruce up their surroundings with new colors, backgrounds and images. Serious MySpace users brag about knowing a thing or two about HTML coding. They write poetry and put up their own art. They write about themselves.

For teens, there's the purely social part of it: Instead of the antiquated teen ritual of talking on the phone for hours, MySpace members spend hour upon hour sending each other instant messages and short messages called bulletins.

MySpace users are often measured by the status of their friends, in the same way high school students are judged by whom they hang out with in the halls.

Of course, MySpace isn't the only place for teens to hang out online. Other sites, such as the social site Facebook, aimed at college students, and blogging sites LiveJournal and Xanga, also are popular.

But thanks to its easy-to-use tools, and being at the right place at the right time, MySpace is by far the most popular, says Peter Klaus, a marketing strategist with Fleishman-Hillard.

Web measurement company comScore Media Metrix ranked MySpace the-most-visited site on the Web for November. When measured by the number of pages viewed, MySpace came in fourth, ahead of eBay and Google.

The process of finding new friends — often complete strangers — is called "friending." or by adding your profile to a "Friend Train" And for many teens, it's the glue that makes them stick with MySpace.

Supported through ads, MySpace is free to users, who are mostly ages 14 to 34. Membership is growing by 5 million a month, according to MySpace's numbers.