MySpace Profile Layout Editors
Profiles are what members use to “present” themselves to the rest of the community. The standard, or default profile “layout” consists of a white background with blue and orange accents and black, Times New Roman font. However, members are not bound to this layout look. As often as every week, new layout editors are posted on the internet. Some of these offer members the opportunity to customize their layout so that it is a one of a kind. For the less savvy MySpacers, there are sites online which offer pre-made layouts; all the member has to do is select one he likes and copy and paste the applicable HTML code into the “About Me” section of his profile.
Thomas’ MySpace Editor and MySpace Toolbox are two of the more popular programs online for creating custom, one-of-a-kind profiles. Both of these programs are simple to use, even for the internet novice. Users can choose color schemes from pull-down menus that show the available colors or by inserting HTML color codes, which can be found through Lycos’ WebMonkey reference page or by doing a keyword search for “HTML color codes.” A color code chart is helpful because the selections of colors in the pull-down menus on either site, Thomas’ or the Toolbox, are somewhat limited (two or three shades of each color, red, pink, blue, green, etc.) while the color code charts offer every color recognized by most internet browsers and color computer monitors.
With the editor programs, users can change the color and style of the main background, font, headings (“About Me,” “Who I’d Like to Meet”), links, tables and table borders, as well as the appearance of photos on the page (transparent or negative value, for example) and the links (always underlined, underlined only on mouse-over). Users also have the opportunity to upload photos or artwork to be used as a background for the whole page or within the tables. The background can be stationary or can scroll with the page, tables can be opaque or transparent so that the main background shows through behind the table.
In order for users to apply their own photos or artwork to the background of their page, the photo must first be uploaded to the internet. Both Thomas’ MySpace Editor and MySpace Toolbox offer a way to do this but there are other places available online as well, which offer more than uploading services for MySpace layouts. Photobucket.com, and similar sites, offers an easy to use uploading program and is also a good way to back up picture files in case of a computer crash or similar incident. Once the picture file has been uploaded, it will be assigned a URL which can be pasted into the editor program to be used as a background for a profile layout.
BlinkYou.com, Toxxic.net and MySpace-Themes offer a variety of pre-made layouts that save time and energy and are easy for users of all levels of internet capability to apply to their profile, by simply pasting code into the “About Me” section of the profile editor. The selection of layouts available on these sites range from abstract art to colored stripes, stars or hearts, to photos of famous people and a whole host of other options in between. These pre-made layouts take care of every aspect of the page for the user, from applying the background image to coloring the tables to selecting a font style, all that is left to the user is filling in their personal information.
There are even places online that help with the personal information aspect of the MySpace profile design process. MySpaceToolbox offers users a creative way to display their favorite movies, music and books with photo list codes. Simply input the title of a movie or book or a musical artist’s name and MySpaceToolbox will search the internet to find small photos of said movie, book or artist that can be applied to a profile with a click of the mouse. Generally these are CD or DVD cover art, movie posters or photos of the cover of the book.
QuickKwiz, LiquidGeneration and QuizFarm are examples of a few sites which offer “personality” quizzes which will offer readers a look into a user’s political beliefs or musical interests as well as compare them to television characters, superheroes or mythological creatures, just by filling in a few blanks or answering a few multiple choice questions about themselves, ranging from favorite color to their idea of a perfect date, from pet peeve to favorite food.
Whether an internet novice or a skilled HTML programmer, there are several sites available for each and every MySpace user to customize their profile to their liking. The sites listed here are only the more commonly used sites; the best way to find a profile editor is to browse through friends’ profiles to see what they used to create their profiles, especially if they have something particularly interesting.
