Searching in Myspace

Searching for Members in Myspace

Finding people in Myspace is a little confusing, because there are at least FOUR ways to search for other Myspace members.

1. The most intuitive one, using the Search Box at the top of the page, does allow you to do a keyword search (select Myspace, and not "The Web" option). But exactly WHAT profile fields you're searching is not obvious. And the results are all over the map. I couldn't find my own profile after searching on numerous keywords.
2. The Search Link located between Browse and Invite, just under the large banner ad at the top of the page gives a few more options. Skip the first one, Search MySpace Profiles, because that's exactly the same as the search box at the top of the page. You can try Find a Friend, which lets you search by Name, Display Name, or Email. The Classmate Finder lets you search by School Name, Country, and State/Province. Or use Affiliations for Networking to find Myspace members who are looking to network with others interested in specific topics such as Dance, Film, Gaming, Photography, or Technology. You can specify a keyword to narrow your affiliation search. But I think you'll ONLY find people who specifically marked their profiles to indicate that they want to network with others in that field.
   
3. The Browse Link located between Home and Search, is perhaps the most powerful search feature on Myspace. Note that the Basic tab is the default option, and allows you to search for members by Gender, Age, Relationship Status, or Geographic Radius.
   
4. If you select the Advanced tab in the Browse function, a bunch of other search options become visible. These include Ethnicity, Body Type, Height, Education and Religion.
   

But unfortunately, there is no "keyword" input in the Browse/Advanced search options. So the short answer to your question is that you're not crazy. There is no direct way to search for Myspace members who meet those specific criteria. But you can come close if you mix and match some of the other search options described here.

Do you have any Myspace tips to share? Post your comments below...