MySpace Comedy Site Jump Starting Careers

You might recognize Phil Kuhlenbeck as that guy who opens at various comedy clubs around Texas and the southwest.

You also might be one of the few thousand people who have stumbled across his MySpace Web page, www.myspace.com/pjkuhlenbeck.

"I blew it off for a along time," said the 30-something-year-old stand-up comedian, like many in his age demographic thinking the social forum was a waste of time. More and more people started telling him that "you're a comedian and corporate speaker — you need to get on MySpace."

So now Kuhlenbeck has created a page on MySpace Comedy. The special link sits within the popular networking site and is used by comedians to post gigs and talk to fans.

MySpace Comedy also makes comics more visible to the site's 90 million members, more so than a any customary Web site.

"It makes me feel great," Kuhlenbeck said, "it's a way that allows fans to interact with me and attract a larger audience!"

MySpace's members create free profiles and develop an interconnected web of friends who link to one another. And it has become a way for businesses, musicians and comedians to create a buzz.

Such big-name comics as Dane Cook who has nearly 1.4 million friends — have been posting MySpace profiles since as early as 2004, according to Tom Anderson, president and co-founder of MySpace.

MySpace.com was the No. 1-ranked Web site in the U.S. behind Yahoo! Mail for the week that ended July 8 based on the number of visits, according to Internet traffic monitor Hitwise.

Austin, Texas comedian Dana Smith and manager of comedy club The Velveeta Room calls MySpace a godsend, giving comics new gigs, contacts and college-age and 20-something fans.

"That's the medium they are attracted to," Smith said of MySpace. "In all honesty, it's the best thing since fungus cream."

Kuhlenbeck can be found at www.myspace.com/pjkuhlenbeck