MySpace has been making headlines a lot lately, what with news of its continued climb in popularity alongside the development of governmental controls on how and when MySpace can be accessed. Although some have questioned whether the social networking site can sustain the continued attacks on its development, the site continues to collect controversy--and hordes of new users.
Some of those new MySpace users aren't just individuals, as we've seen in the past with The Carver from Nip/Tuck and the U.S. Marines, as well as the characters from the Web-based Soup of the Day show. And bands have found particular success in promoting themselves through the site.
Now, the popular NBC situation comedy My Name is Earl, starring Jason Lee, is launching onto MySpace as well.
NBC will be partering with the site to allow users the chance to have their photo in the closing credits of the show during one of the first episodes of the upcoming season. Each episode contians references to friends of the show's creator, Greg Garcia, with the Amigos de Garcia logo.
Now, through the MySpace promotion, viewers will have a chance to be one of these friends of Garcia's. The Earl MySpace page is also offering user-generated content and sneak peaks for the release of the show's first season release on DVD, as well as mobile content and other merchandising offers.
I have to admit that, although I haven't been a regular viewer of the My Name is Earl show, I feel a close kinship to Jason Lee's character is plight, since I suffer the social stigma of Earl...it's my middle name. So, for all of us Earls who have had to suffer through it, I may extend my friendship to him on my next foray into MySpace.
And, as this show's site and former examples have shown, MySpace has great potential for creating transmedia content and distributing cross-platform content.
