MySpace in the world

MySpace.com has taken so much heat for problems with its teen-oriented website that the NewsCorp-owned site is striking back - with good deeds. According to the Washington Post, MySpace is sponsoring a contest, which begins today, requesting members to send in short videos promoting social activism. The winner will be featured in Seventeen magazine.

The contest's sponsors said they hope to use its spotlight to bring awareness to issues that would be of concern to a broad base of people. "It's really a powerful way to reach people," said Jeff Berman, senior vice president of public affairs for MySpace.

"We wanted to use our two mediums for greater good," said Atoosa Rubenstein, editor in chief of Seventeen, who said the magazine and its editors all started their own MySpace pages to keep in touch with their readers. With 13 million readers, Seventeen is the top-ranked magazine among teenage girls, while MySpace ranks No. 1 among teens' favorite Web sites, she said. "We're almost organizers with a powerful megaphone."

Research shows that teens want to feel that they contibute to the world but have a hard time actually walking the walk. Michael Wood, vice president of Teenage Research Unlimited, says: "They are interested in community service as long as it's served up to them on a silver platter."

Teens took to the yellow Livestrong cancer-research bracelets because they were easy to wear and it allowed them to broadcast their involvement, Wood said. "They're not as passive as that might suggest, but they lack an easy opportunity to get involved," he said. After all, "they're still teenagers, and they don't want to work too hard to get involved."