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Daylife/AP Photo
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| Courtney Holt, head of MySpace Music |
The “Place for Friends” is starting to feel lonely. MySpace, the Rupert Murdoch-owned website once synonymous with social networking, is losing popularity and key staff in its biggest troubles since launching five years ago…
MySpace’s loss of status as the cool place to be is an object lesson in the notoriously fickle internet, where today’s cultural icon is tomorrow’s passing fad. From humble origins in 2003, the site led the so-called “Web 2.0″ revolution in which users could create their own profile pages and share content with friends. Murdoch’s purchase of MySpace for $580m was seen as a masterstroke as membership continued to soar, with celebrities and politicians joining the craze.
But then came Facebook, founded by Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg, which soon snowballed with an older and apparently more affluent demographic to steal MySpace’s crown. Gradually newspaper coverage of social networks switched from references to “MySpace and Facebook” to “Facebook and MySpace”. The rise of Bebo also undermined MySpace’s dominance, while Twitter is among the latest novelties eating into users’ attention spans…
There are clues behind the scenes that all is not well at Murdoch’s Fox Interactive Media, which runs the site.
Amit Kapur, MySpace’s chief operating officer, resigned after little more than a year in the post to set up a new company. He will be joined by Jim Benedetto and Steve Pearman, senior vice-presidents of engineering and product strategy.
And, no, I really don’t care. But, some of you may.
I think Murdoch will hire Kevin Rose as head of marketing.
#3 I don’t care that you care that he don’t care.
My daughters high school is all about Facebook. No one there is on MySpace.
$580 million, what a steal….for the original sellers.
Don
#4,
Good, that means the kids in a few years will all rebel against facebook and move onto something else (as happened with myspace, as happened with e-mail, as happened with AOL) and the facebook evangalists WILL FINALLY SHUT THE FUCK UP.
Myspace is still the place to go for indie music, but as a “social network” it has been playing catchup to Facebook and other networks for a while now.
#6,
Having the perspective of the years behind me, social networking peaked with AOL, in 1992.
Way back in 1992, you could have discussions, send messages, listen to live chats with celebrity etc etc etc.
Everything since then has been the same 10-20 guys starting the service up after asking some VC for money. Getting it going, then moving on.
Over and over again. Facebook accomplishes the exact same thing that AOL did. The only difference is Facebook is built on Css2.1 instead of the html that Myspace was built on. And Myspace was html instead of the client server apps during the client-server age in the late 90’s (IM, Napster AKA peak of internet music all downhill since that app, email) which replaced the BBS age of AOL.
I am sure it will all be reinvented again, now that these same 20 guys are moving onto Cloud computing or some such nonsense. And then there will be the now social network!!! now with cloud!!! And it will allow you to post messages, chat and send IM…
Now with more newness!
Deleted my MySpace account two weeks ago.
To reiterate #1, it has always been largely a hovel for lower class tastes. While there interesting aspects to exploring that world, that is no reason to aspire to live in the cyber ghetto.
This is the reason I believe Google should be looking over it’s shoulders. Who wouldn’t move to a different search engine in a heartbeat if someone else came up with a better algorithm?
RBG
My biggest problem with MySpace was all the bogus accounts people made, and the spam those fake account generated. Plus all the mindless retarded messages from real people.
Facebook will face the same problem if they can keep the spammers out.
Its good to know I chose Facebook over MySpace when I decided to join the social networking revolution. But I know even facebook will go into oblivion in the near future just like email did in the last few months.
Facebook take note, your probably next.
Did you guys know that John Dvorak loves Twitter? I heard he’s going to match Jason Calacanis bribe, errr donation, to be a permanent fixture in the top 10 most followed
seems the 15 minutes of fame also applies to web 2.0 sites.. i wonder how long facebook will last, along with twitter and all that follow.
#8, what do you think of the people who consider your favorite things to be lower class tastes?
#15–Teri==interesting idea there. Do you agree that on many things there is indeed a fairly well accepted objectively available hierarchy of taste and culture? If not, you aren’t paying attention to culture. If so, then your answer is clear.
Everyone should be aware of the hierarchy yet still find satisfaction in their own choices—or change them. I just finished dinner. Macaroni and Cheese out of the 50 cent box. Delicious. I have it about every 6 months and would miss it if it went away. Not very high class, but I love it. If you don’t love Mac and Cheese, I hope you love what you eat as much as I do what I eat.
Same with every other taste/culture issue.
Social networking groups are like bands. They come and go. Some of them will most likely hang around with fewer users. None of them are going to be the in place to be for more than few years.
Google will do what MS is doing sooner or later. All companies do that which is why the entire idea of too big to fail is seriously bad.
Rupert Murdoch owns myspace? Excuse me while I laugh hysterically. Well that’s another reason to avoid myspace. Then again facebook is no better.
Also don’t forget people like this don’t stay at any company for long. You can’t gauge a company’s troubles because it’s losing workers.
#16, bobbo:
“Do you agree that on many things there is indeed a fairly well accepted objectively available hierarchy of taste and culture? If not, you aren’t paying attention to culture.”
“Everyone should be aware of the hierarchy…”
I disagree that “there is indeed A hierarchy” and that there exists “THE hierarchy.” Not because I don’t pay attention to culture, but because I do. Different tastes, different cultures, therefore many hierarchies.
My point to #8 was: Would he think a “higher class” person was wrong in calling him lower class? If so, then isn’t #8 wrong for calling someone lower class?
Besides, “low class” is an insult. Aesthetic descriptions can be made without insulting anyone.
Like you, I enjoy several varieties of macaroni and cheese. One comes in a box, none come in classes.
Vive la difference
tg