The Soapbox team has launched some impressive web sites lately, all powered by Joomla, including: 

• Overseas Press Club of America 
• ACLU's Get Busy, Get Equal 
• Society Hill Synagogue
  
• Joseph Papp Public Theater
• Joe's Pub at the Public
  

And we have 4 more launches slated for summer, including 

So you're thinking about setting up shop on the $580,000,000 medium we all know as MySpace.  Why?  To reach a younger audience? To broaden awareness?  Because everyone else is doing it? Regardless, it stands to reason that you're missing the most important marketing opportunity of our generation if you don't.

In developing a MySpace page for  our client -- the NRDC -- I came across a few stumbling blocks. Here are their solutions:

Hey User Interface Designers: Some Format Rules To Keep in Mind
In order to utilize the Friends and Comments functionality of a MySpace Profile you can not use a complete div overlay layout.  Since MySpace profiles are a serious of tables embedded in tables embedded in tables embedded in tables(you get the point).  You need to identify the table that contains the Friends section and insert a break that allows you style everything below that point.  That way you can have your custom content above it, and the MySpace Friends and Comments features below it.

Safari and IE 7, Oh My
To avoid cross-browser compatibility issues, start with a very clean div overlay layout (either taken from an existing MySpace page whose design you like, or from one of the online generators).  Be sure that you have properly coded a clean canvas that looks consistent across all browsers.  You can be sure that if it's not clean and consistent from the start, then it certainly won't be once you enter all your flashy custom content.  One un-customizable aspect of MySpace profiles is the left padding/indentation that both the " Username's Friends Comments" and "Username's Friend Space" text have.  When these two sections are placed on top of one another, you will see that the two text fields do not indent the same amount of pixels.

To work around this issue you can cover the "Username's Friend Space" text with your custom content overlay on the top. You can then insert that exact text (or your own custom text replacement) at the footer of your top content overlay, and the indentation will then be identical and the transition from your custom content area to the MySpace Friend/Comment area will be seamless.

Which Profile Boxes To Store Your HTML/CSS
There is some flexibility provided to developers in terms of where they place their code within the MySpace profile, but not much.  In terms of a best practice for maintaining organization, it's best to limit your code to only 2 input fields within the profile editor.  The 'About Me' and the 'I'd Like To Meet' input fields (note that these fields are different on MySpace Band Profiles).  In the 'About Me' you want to declare all the CSS you will be using between <style type="text/css"> and </style> tags.

All your custom content is going to be placed in the 'I'd Like To Meet' input field.  It's best to place all your custom content within a div like <div class="custom_content"> </div>.  This way when you are done with your custom content you can cap it off with the code you'll need to break out your Friends section.  That code is:
<div class="break">
    <div class="friends">
        <table>
            <tr>
                <td>
                    <table>
                        <tr>
                            <td>
                                <table>
                                    <tr>
                                        <td>
                                            <table>
                                                <tr>
                                                    <td>                                                       
                                                        <style>

This code will allow you to bump your Friends/Comments section below all your custom content with a margin-top declaration that is appropriate based on how much height your custom content occupies.

Every client has experienced some version of our Word-wonky, long, packed-with-heavy-graphics Joomla manual. We're relieved to say that it's now available online at www.joomlasimple.com. If you're one of our clients, check back often, as it's evolving daily.