MySpace: Promotional Tool for SMEs?

Yes, says this largely anecdotal article from the Dallas Morning News (regrettably, reg. req'd):

As it has become one of the most popular Internet destinations for young people, MySpace has also attracted legions of small businesses — restaurants, bars, clothing stores, tattoo parlors — trying to reach an audience with tastes outside the mainstream. All of them use the site for free.

This is strictly a demographic play right now. I, the 41-year old, would never look on MySpace for any business listing. But its 47 million uniques (12-20s) might well do that (especially for tattoo parlors). The larger point here is the value of social networking/media sites for local businesses.

Clearly any businesses on MySpace are there because of the massive user base (and probably the demographics of that user base). Also the online word-of-mouth/viral aspect of such sites. The article also cites the simplicity of setting up a profile on MySpace:

Setting up a MySpace page requires only the most basic computer skills, an asset that has helped the site attract so many users. It's also appealing for business owners. Gretchen Frizzell, proprietor of vintage clothing store Dolly Python, set up her own page despite being "not real computer-savvy," she said.

So what's interesting to me is this: if MySpace is able to clean up its act it may start to have broader consumer and "advertiser" appeal. It would be like a kind of Craigslist: free, simple-to-create profiles that see massive user traffic.

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Related: SiliconBeat reports on the impending launch of Socializr, yet another social site, brought to you by the founder of the now almost defunct Friendster. Friendster defined the SN space for twentysomethings until MySpace showed up and took over.