I spent a considerable amount of time tonight editing my MySpace profile after a bit of prodding from John Jung. It’s nothing to be proud of. In fact, I should probably be ashamed. But so many people use it and it’s been hailed as such an effective marketing tool, especially for indie artists, so I thought, why not — maybe there’s a thing or two to be learned from the experience.

The address is http://www.myspace.com/pete3483, in case you’re wondering.

It’s pretty much a self-promotional booth in the form of a webpage profile. I rehased a part of my bio from peterkang.com for the About Me section and added as many links as possible to my various sites along the side. There’s a certain feeling of guilt in a profile-building exercise – sort of like the feeling you get when you spend too much time in front of the mirror giving each part of your face too much attention. I felt especially vain when I selected the photos that would be uploaded, carefully adjusting the lighting and colors in Photoshop before sending up for public consumption.

I added John Mayer as a friend. I must be his two hundred fifth thousand something-eth friend. He’s my third.

I think I will use the blog feature of MySpace as a dumping ground for edited versions of my The Elusive Hope project from last year. I doubt the posts will become hot reading material, but among the millions who randomly browse through strangers’ profiles while picking up on many useless tidbits of info, there’s probably a chance that a handful of people will stumble upon these entries and maybe even take the time to read through. Yes, the ultimate self-promotional tool, the cauldron of vanities, and a not-so-discreet way to say “stalk me please.” Speaking of which, add me as a friend if you use MySpace, too.