In the same way that mobile phones became a must-have for all in the '90s, Myspace has reached a similar status today: you either already have a page, know someone who does, or at very least have heard the word bandied about.

Founded in 2003, the community phenomenon is described on Wikipedia.org as: "A popular social networking website offering an interactive, user-submitted network of friends, personal profiles, blogs, groups, photos, music and videos internationally." And in a nutshell, that's exactly what it is.

However, to try to encapsulate what Myspace "is" in that single sentence isn't completely fair, as it falls a bit short. Popular? Definitely! The sixth most popular website in any language in the world, in fact, with a reported 230,000 registrations per day and well above 100 million registered users. That makes for a lot of Myspace pages.

But the true beauty is in what you make of it: different people find different uses for Myspace and create completely individual spaces for themselves. Some build personal photo libraries, some write travel journals while others run businesses or promote their bands. It's a new channel of personal and mass communication, all rolled into one.

You can keep in touch with family and friends, make new friends and even find old friends. You can keep up to date with your favourite bands and artists - even chat with them personally if you're lucky enough. And with a lot of artists personally involved in the running their pages, it's quite likely that you could!

With the sheer volume of users and constant buzz of happenings, the site has received its share of criticism, mainly regarding privacy and internet predation issues. Although Myspace has strict guidelines and systems in place to protect minors and prevent anything untoward taking place, nothing beats a bit of parental involvement. For concerned parents, we have some great advice in our Family Challenges blog by Dr. Robi Sonderegger. Read it here.

Myspace is by no means the only social networking site around. If you're keen to see some of the others, have a look at Facebook, or Bebo as alternatives, but with Myspace getting about 80% of the action, it would take you a while to get bored using it.

So, if you've heard about it, but haven't had the time or inclination to investigate, why not have a look now. Click around. You'll be able to view what other people have done with their profiles, visit band pages where you can listen to their music and - thanks to Myspace video - watch movies as well.

Although you can have a good sticky-beak, you will only be able to get to a certain point in the site without registering. To view photo galleries, send messages and add comments, you will need to be a user yourself (just like on thedaily.com.au - have you registered yet? Go on!). Luckily this process is relatively quick and painless, so within a few minutes you could find yourself the proud owner of a bright and shiny new Myspace page!

Done? Good. Now why does your page not look as flashy as some of the others you've been browsing through? Patience, young Jedi ... Next week I will be giving a few pointers, tips and tricks on how to personalise it. In the meantime, have some fun with it, add some friends. You'll be surprised at how quickly it grows!

What do you think of Myspace? Add a comment in the box below!
Got any Myspace questions or tips for Myspace newbies? Let us know if you have any recommendations of cool Myspace pages to see!