How To Delete Spam Comments On MySpace

Ugh, I logged into my MySpace account and saw this stupid comment on my profile:

Hey, I can track who visits my profile!
Now you can see everyone who looks at your MySpace page!

Click here to start tracking your profile visitors!

The worst part was that I COULDN'T DELETE IT! The "Delete Comment" button was oversized and when I tried to click on it, it just brought me back to the same page. The stupid comment would not go away!!

My first thought was, "Oh great, someone's going to hack into my profile." so I changed my password and logged back out again. Then I started searching on Google for some way to delete the stupid spam comment.

I finally found the help that I needed - so I'm passing it on to you. Here's what you do:

1) Go to your profile and click on the "View All" link at the top of your comment section.

2) Go the comment directly below the one you want to delete and place your cursor on the "Delete Comment" link.

3) Right-click on "Delete Comment" and select "Copy Link Location" - left-click.

4) Now go to your address bar (where you type in web addresses) and right-click then select "Paste". It should look something like this:

javascript:__doPostBack('ctl00$Main$PagedComments$viewComments$commentRepeater$ctl55$deleteLinkButton','')

5) Don't hit enter just yet, because there's one more thing you have to do -- look in the address bar for "ctl---" (in bold above). You want to change the number so that it reads one number lower than the number there. By changing the number you will delete the comment above (which should be the spam comment). So if the number reads ctl55, change it to read ctl54. Pretty easy, right?

6) Now hit Enter. If you've done everything right, the spam comment should now be gone.

7) Do a little celebratory dance here -- or point your finger at the now deleted spam comment and say, "IN YOUR FACE SUCKA"

If you're wondering how this whole thing works... well I don't really know. All I can tell you is that you're re-creating the delete comment button that the spammer has altered and hidden from you. But if you want a more technical answer, you'll have to ask Jeremy, our resident MySpace tech expert. ;)

Hope this helps!!!

Celebrities and MySpace: An Obsession Waiting to Happen

Before I start the article today I just hope that everybody enjoyed what I hope will become a semi-regular topic, The MySpace or Yours Movie and a Profile. I only mention this because I want some reader input on what movies/profiles you would like to see reviewed. Any suggestions would be great just leave an idea in the comment section. Thanks so much and we return you to your regularly scheduled article.

Celebrity crushes make the world go round; I know I have many an obsession when it comes to celebrities. It started with Leonard DiCaprio and moved to Ben Affleck, Orlando Bloom, etc. While I have matured (albeit not by much) with the advent of MySpace, tracking a celebrity has become so much easier, downright scary. With recent stories such as Hilary Duff’s recent stalker, MySpace could be the new tool for celeb stalkers to have even more access to their obsessions.

Celebrity MySpace profiles are popping up everyday. Typing in the name “Britney Spears” can yield you over fifty profiles, although being able to tell which one is really hers, if she even has one, and is the problem. An article in TMZ.com tackled the topic of which main super stars have actual profiles. Some of these profiles can range from the intricate to the bare bones. A profile supposedly made by “Last Kiss” actress Rachel Bilson has pictures of her grandfather and accurately names her dog. While Rachel Bilson’s reps deny she has a profile it shows how far fans go to make a MySpace in their idol’s image.

When a celeb has a profile they can choose to keep their profiles private, only allowing people they know specifically. Brody Jenner of “The Hills” is one of those stars who keep their MySpace to themselves. Some celebrities are more open such as Paris Hilton, allowing thousands of fans to follow her. MySpace has also come to forefront when celebs want to communicate with their fan base. This came into the news recently when former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and his ex-wife Shanna Moakler started bashing each other on their MySpace blog. Or when Nicole Richie slammed her former stylist Rachel Zoe.

By having these celebrities be so open and accessible to their fans brings up the danger of how easily a stalker can track them. A potential stalker can send threats to a celeb through their MySpace mail or in scarier instances make a MySpace discussing how they could harm the celebrity. What is to stop a random MySpace troll from latching onto a celebrity MySpace and forming a disturbing relationship with the person? I myself have a character profile devoted to Ellen Pompeo’s character Meredith Grey from “Grey’s Anatomy.” While I list a disclaimer stating that I am not Ellen Pompeo and do not have any access or relationship with her, I have gotten some disturbing messages from older men thinking Meredith Grey is a real person and wanting to meet me.

Further harassment can come to a celebrity’s family as well if they have a MySpace. I recently stumbled upon the profile of a prominent actor’s sister recently, by looking up the actors IMDB profile I was able to find the sister on MySpace simply by typing in her name. Her MySpace isn’t intricate but it does have personal pictures with her and her famous sibling on there. Now it is unclear whether this sibling wants it known that her and her famous sibling has MySpaces but due to the fact that they both don’t have very many friends it seems that they keep their profiles downplayed. But how scary would it be to have thousands of people harassing you to gain knowledge on your famous family member?

Currently, no celebrity has come forward and said that their profiles have led to them having a stalker but the opportunity is definitely out there. All it takes is a person obsessed with a celebrity and a little time, before a floodgate can be opened leading them to an interaction with their obsession.

Grey's Anatomy MySpace Layouts

This week an all new Grey's Anatomy premieres on Thursday! No more reruns -- well at least not for awhile anyway. So for those of you MySpacers who are die-hard fans of Meredith, Cristina, McDreamy, Izzie and George... here is a compilation of Grey's Anatomy MySpace layouts. Seriously...

Starry Grey's Anatomy MySpace Layout

Grey's Anatomy MySpace Layout (available with or without matching Extended Network banner)

I Love Grey's Anatomy MySpace Layout

Pick Me, Choose Me, Love Me - Grey's Anatomy MySpace Layout

Hello Myspace or Yours!

Hello readers! Let me introduce myself. My name is Alma. I will be joining this lovely family of bloggers so I may bring you my insights and observations about the jabberwocky of a site that is Myspace.
Myspace and I have a love-hate relationship. It's like chocolate....I don't need it, but I crave it...and I notice if I go a day without it. I love Myspace because it keeps me connected to long-lost friends and allows me to make new friends. I can also "spy" on those people who are not so much my friends...("Oh my God, that kid I grew up next to sure lost a lot of weight!" or "That creepy kid in middle school runs her own adult website?!" You know what I'm talking about...) I also love it, because it helps me network and promote my art. I have met many people and learned valuable lessons from some of the individuals I have encountered on Myspace.
But I also hate Myspace. Why? Because it has brought a whole new sense of cliquishness to the web. ("Oh God, she's so not on my top 8 anymore!") It also has brought another level of creepiness to the web. IE, child predators, freaky stalkers, and mom's that are way too old to be posting pictures of themselves in bikinis. But mostly I hate Myspace because it is unavoidable. You can't go anywhere in the US without overhearing somebody talking about their Myspace page. It's a cultural phenomenon. Instead of asking for people's phone numbers, we 'Myspace' them. Telephones and letters have lost out to messaging and comments. I guess I don't really hate Myspace because it's everywhere...but it does get annoying. What makes me really hate it though, is that fact that even after all of this complaining about how absurd it is....I will go check my own page. In a way, Myspace owns a big chunk of the communication and social sector of my life. Which of course, is secretly why I love it.:)
So you may be wondering what a kooky person like myself has to contribute to the Myspace or Yours blog. Well I will tell you: I will be writing my rants and raves about the things I love and hate about Myspace. Are you surprised? Most likely not... But, I will also be writing something useful ll. I will write about "Myspace Safety" as well. These will be the serious articles about how kids and grown-ups alike can stay safe on Myspace. (No one likes a stalker or a hacker.)

So there's my brief, slightly messy introduction. I look forward to writing articles and building a reader base.

Until next time,
Your classy lassy in the Rainy City,
Alma

MixMap MySpace Tracking

Well, once again, there has been a surge in the number of MySpace trackers as of late, and one of the biggest contenders in the ring has been MixMap. It's a pretty novel concept- you create a profile, and it will track your visitors using pins on a virtual map (default uses Yahoo! maps I do believe.) MixMap tracks the time the visitors visit, their IP, and will list their MixMap username if they have an account. If the visitor does not have an account, it will list them as an anonymous user.

Today I decided to try MixMap out, seeing it rising in popularity and hearing some things about it. I created an account, created a map and requested that a friend of mine view my profile. The time I viewed my profile was listed, and his was listed after he viewed. I know where my friend lives, so I figured I'd check the map out and see if it was accurate. It was in the range of five miles off. I was puzzled. I took a look at mine. My pinpoint was over a mile off. I decided that I'd create another MixMap account and associate with it a different MySpace profile of mine, for two reasons. First, I'd see if the pinpoint was dynamic to the user or the IP and I'd compare the two codes I used to see where exactly they get their tracking power from.

Right off the bat, the pinpoint on the map was different when I accessed from a different account. It was about 400 yards West of the other pinpoint.. for the exact same computer on the exact same IP. At this point, my suspicions on how MixMap does its job were confirmed. Rather than accurately tracking where the IP is static (your house or wireless network area,) it tracks from your connection hub. There are thousands of connection hubs in my medium-sized city of 500,000 alone. My connection can obviously run through multiple hubs, and changes it at times. My friend's connection seems to run through one hub, about five miles away from his home. Therefore, the tracking on the map is extremely inaccurate and worthless if you're trying to get real answers to who's viewing your profile. Not only that, but what good would someone's house do if that was the only information about who visited your profile? What are you going to do, drive to everyone's house who visits your profile? Yeah, right.

So, after the dismal display of accuracy, I decided to find out how MixMap works. I quickly recognized only two differences between the two codes I had. Two numbers were different, in the image location and the link. The link was to each MixMap profile, so you could view the map, and the image said "you have been tracked." On my profile, I chose to hide it. If you weren't to hide it, I'm sure it'd be clickable and would link to the MixMap profile. Right. So, it seems that when I only visit the url of the image, I'm still tracked. The image itself, and only the image, is the actual tracker. You could have just the image and it'd still track.

They also seemed to put about eight lines of extraneous code in their tracker. Perhaps the author of the code was unaware that he didn't need the rest of it. Anyway, I do believe I've figured out exactly how the image and only the image tracks you. It's actually quite simple, more simple than I figured. The image is hosted on an FTP server (will host files that can be downloaded.) When you connect to download files off of an FTP server, it will track your IP. When you create a profile with MixMap, it associates an IP address to your profile. When that IP address visits your MySpace profile, it searches the MixMap database for the profile associated with that IP. If there is none, it records it as an anonymous user. It's quite more simple than I thought it'd be.

All in all, MixMap is very disappointing in my opinion. It promises to track the location of your visitors but does so poorly. Unless you want a general demographic of who views your profile, that's pretty worthless. It doesn't tell you who visited your profile with any MySpace links, so again, no worth. It's very simplistic and anybody with an FTP server could very easily implement this strategy, so I'm unimpressed by the methodology. To be honest, I've viewed a true MySpace tracker. I once worked with a gentleman on making one, and we were successful. We used a back door of MySpace's coding and it gave you visit time, who visited you, which link they clicked to visit you and their IP address. It was flawless, but in the end, MySpace closed the back door we used. My point is that this is what profile trackers should be shooting for... to show you who visited your profile, when, and more, all without them having to register for some site. After all, those who you want to know are viewing your profile aren't going to sign up for the website. MixMap seems to me a poor attempt to try to offer you something unique. It's much like all of the other trackers.. registered viewers only and consistently buggy. Some day, we'll probably see another tracker like the one I made, but until then, I really can't say sites like MixMap are overly worth it. I guess the map can be kind of fun to look at, but it's not much more than entertainment. My overall score for MixMap: 4/10.

MySpace or Yours Movie and a Profile:The Last Kiss

Due to the great response I got from the “Top 10” I thought you might like to get my thoughts on movies that aren’t exactly considered “blockbusters” or “must see’s.” While I’m at it I’ll also give a short review of the movie’s MySpace page. If you enjoy these leave a comment and let me know so I know I’m not boring you. So to start this off right we’ll begin with a recent new indie release: “The Last Kiss.” Note: There are some spoilers in here, be aware.

Now “The Last Kiss” stars Zach Braff, Rachel Bilson, Jacinda Barrett, and Blythe Danner. The film revolves around Braff’s character, Michael, a man who’s about to turn thirty and seems to be living the high life. He’s about to have a child with the woman he loves (Barrett) and has amazing friends played by Casey Affleck and Eric Christian Olsen. As thirty slowly approaches Michael begins to think that “they’re no surprises.” It seems that his entire life is predetermined, until he meets Kim (Bilson). Kim is a college sophomore and free spirit who thinks Michael is wonderful, eventually the two begin a relationship that makes Michael question his life, while his friends deal with personal issues of their own.

I originally rented “The Last Kiss” after Braff made his directorial debut with the hit “Garden State.” Sadly, this is no “Garden State” in the slightest, although it tries incredibly hard to be “Garden State 2.” The story itself is very basic, what happens when you hit thirty and you feel something is missing. That would be a great story except not only did Braff already tell that story, but his character is totally unlikable. Michael seems to be an overgrown man child who really can’t make up his mind. It seems that as soon as he comes to the realization that he loves his girlfriend Jenna, after him and Kim have already consummated their relationship, he just drops his mistress never to be seen again. The ending of the film is also incredibly rushed and feels totally out of place.

Rachel Bilson gives an odd performance as Kim. I loved her as Summer on “The OC” and it just seems like she’s rehashing that dippy hot girl performance. She becomes instantly obsessed with Braff’s character, even after she finds out he has a girlfriend. When Michael tells her that he is having a child she becomes so upset, but what is the difference? She contributed to the overall dislike of Braff and his story.

What make this film special are the supporting characters and their story arcs. Blythe Danner and Tom Wilkinson give great performances as Jenna’s parents going through their own marital strife. Jacinda Barrett, not normally known for good performances delivers as the pregnant Jenna, but it is truly Michael’s two friends who make “The Last Kiss” worth seeing. Casey Affleck, the younger brother to actor Ben, turns in a heart tugging performance as Chris. Chris is married to a girl he’s known forever and they have a young child. But after going through his life with his wife under appreciating him he makes a decision to leave. Now what could have turned into a real jerk of a character, it’s what Affleck brings to the character. What he does in the end of the film will definitely bring a tear to your eye. Olsen also turns in a great performance as Michael’s friend who isn’t ready to settle down but doesn’t know what to do with his life.

All in all I would give “The Last Kiss” 7 out of 10. See it for the great side performances, but don’t get too wrapped up in the main story. The movie’s MySpace page also lacks anything amazing, since it’s marketed towards the film’s soundtrack. There is video from the movie’s premier and link to the podcasts made for the film. There is some good music on the site but nothing you can’t listen to on iTunes.

So there you have it, the first MySpace or Yours Movie and a Profile. Sounds catchy don’t it? If you like it let me know, if you hate it….let me know I guess. Hope you enjoyed this trial idea. See you all later.

Links
The Last Kiss soundtrack profile

MySpace: The most effective advertisement?

This evening I was reading the first post by our new writer, Kristen, when I suddenly recollected something that had run through my mind a few months back. Her article was about movies having MySpaces. Here's what I've noticed: hundreds of profiles are popping up to advertise TV shows, movies, radio shows and organizations. Think about this: these groups are putting up MySpaces, and putting information about them on them. They might not necessarily be directly telling you to buy something, watch something or join something, but in the end, that's most likely the effect. These people want your attention from their flashy profiles with often excellent layouts... and they do it to try to get you involved with them. This seems to be like one of the biggest trends in advertisement today, and I actually believe it to be the most effective advertisement tool.

Let's first take a look at an organization that you may not figure to be on MySpace: The United States Army. I visited their profile by stumbling through things, and I'll be honest, it was an excellent profile. From doing some gathering over the Internet, I've found out that MySpace is at the least the second most effective advertising tool for the Army, perhaps only falling to television advertisements. That's big. The best part for these advertisers is that they don't even have to pay to try to sell their product. Rather than paying television stations or radio stations to air advertisements, they might hire a person to run their MySpace and to add as many friends as possible in order to spread their word. It seems to me like MySpace is actually benefiting groups just by them creating a profile.

Many movies have made MySpaces, and one of the first I saw was X-Men 3. But they went yet another step further than just adding people and spreading themselves- they gave you an option to add a top 24, even before MySpace had implemented it itself. However, in order to get this benefit, you had to add them and view their profile (spectacular as well.) They were trying to get you to visit their profile- even more advertisement. So I guess what I'm trying to portray here is that MySpace profiles themselves are tools for advertisement and are extremely effective when you add friends en mass. With no money spent, a few minutes can take you a long way in getting your product out there- be that the army, music, or anything else in particular. With that, I'll leave it to you to decide if this is good or bad, what you might want to do with it, what you could do with it, or anything else in particular. I'm here to give you knowledge, not to try to persuade you :)