Just seen this article in today's Guardian "Go on My Sun, says News Corp"

1st paragraph reads:

The Sun is planning to give its website a massive boost by tying it to the recently acquired and hugely popular MySpace.com community and networking site to create a "MySun" online readers' network.

Well of course I should have checked out whether MySpace was involved with any dodgy business - or political or religious - outfits before signing up. But of course I didn't. I just saw that several of my friends, and bands I respected, were signed up, and it seemed like a good toy, so I signed up; and now I'm slightly hooked.

Being a person of principle, had I known MySpace was owned by News International, I think I would have said "No Thanks" and just carried on with my perfectly formed (but, I suspect, largely unvisited) website. After all, I've been pretty successful up till now at not having anything to do with Rupert Murdoch's evil empire.

But actually that's been pretty easy. I don't subscribe, and never will subscribe, to Sky (but even with Freeview, there are far more good TV programmes on than I have time to watch). I don't read the Times (but on the rare occasions I see it, I'm just confirmed in my opinion that it's a far inferior newspaper to the Guardian and Independent). I don't read the Sun (these days I prefer to use nice soft toilet roll to wipe my arse...)

Actually, I'm just checking out a list of what News International owns to see how virtuous I am. OK, I'm glad to say I don't listen to Classic FM (when I want to listen to classical music, Radio3 is much better). But, then again...  I'm not boycotting HarperCollins books. I expect I've seen the odd 20th Century Fox film recently. And if I worked in early years education, I don't suppose I'd stop subscribing to Nursery World...

So what's to be done. I could try to justify my continuing presence here by saying "well I'm not actually earning News International any money by having a MySpace account". But of course, that shouldn't make any difference.

Still, I'm here now, and like I said, I'm slightly hooked. But come the day that, in the public perception, MySpace users are treated as synonymous with Sun readers - I'm off.

P.S. final thought - Billy Bragg's got a MySpace account, so it must be OK!