Readers and myspace users

Social networking sites -- myspace, facebook, livejournal -- intrigue us as a place for marketing books. Except....has anyone taken a deep look as to how prolific users of these sites find the books they read? Do they read more or less than the average population?

We ask this because we're still sorting out the worth of starting a myspace page for our authors. Is a myspace page just a formality-- mark your territory -- but not a necessity in marketing your book online?

We still maintain the greatest attractant is a really well written, often updated, and sharp looking web site or blog for a book.

Eleanor Roosevelt's calling cards

Before he became president, Franklin Roosevelt moved to DC to begin his political career. As expected of an ambitious man's wife, Eleanor Roosevelt began to establish the social network to bolster his career. She visited the homes of the wives of other important men, and if they were not home, would leave a calling card. The process was torturous for her. Yet, years later, she was grateful for the experience, as it developed a second persona able to glide through these interactions to her advantage.

Have you developed your calling card to create your online social network?

Some basics: create a profile on a social networking site -- myspace, livejournal, facebook. Just a profile, with minimal updating and interaction, will significantly increase your placement in the search engines. Why should amazon.com be the top search result for your book, or your name?

Plus, it will tamp down any negative reviews of your book (in the top 20 of Google results)...something else the newbie Mrs. Roosevelt must have figured out as well.