Social Networking Journal » MySpace

Is Myspace Losing It’s Edge?

Heather — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:25:48 +0000

Is Myspace having a difficult time losing it’s edge in the competitive vertical of social networking? It’s hard to say. MySpace has its share of users who simply won’t leave no matter what, because they’ve spent a lot of time to design their user pages, write journals and gather online friends. The crew of MySpace is continuing to add new features, but will their need to expand while keeping their remaining audience succeed? Only time will tell.

There’s definitely something that MySpace team has to do in order to stay alive.
Compete.com says that the arch nemesis of MySpace, Facebook, has already overcome MySpace in terms of traffic received. It happened somewhere around December 2008. However, MySpace didn’t witness any dramatic decrease in visitor numbers, as the monthly traffic has declined by only 8% since May 2008. The statistic is quite good for them, as Facebook has grown an astonishing 250% during the past year.

Statistics are nothing without proper interpretation.
Actually, these statistics show that MySpace is stagnating, nothing more and nothing less. The soaring numbers of Facebook users show that Facebook have targeted whole new audiences that MySpace couldn’t conquer without drastic changes to their site. Facebook is with a more flexible audience, as the pages of MySpace look plain ugly for the first time visitor.

User statistics also don’t mean anything, at least if the companies can’t profit from them.
The monetization of MySpace is clearly going better than the one of Facebook. The users just generate more cash than the ones at Facebook do. That’s the downturn of the popularity that the #1 Social Network in the world has – Facebook can’t target their users very well because of the tremendous age differences of members there. However, the main rival of MySpace has its advantages (e.g. a cleaner look) for attracting potential advertisers. Contrary, MySpace has no problems with its teen to twenties user base, because it’s easy to target. That is why they can cash in more, even from their shrinking user base.

What should be done?
MySpace has implemented a micro-blogging feature following what Facebook did. Well, you can disregard Twitter, but it’s bad for business if people find features that are offered on other sites and go to those sites, instead of putting up with what MySpace has. New features will be introduced undercover, in order to sustain the shrinking pool of MySpace users. It’s difficult to predict what some of these features might be.

MySpace is on a crossroad. One way, there is the golden crown of music that MySpace has successfully implemented, it still can be polished, and if they choose to do it, they’ll probably squeeze everything left out of the music niche that can possibly be taken.

The other way is taking risks to make MySpace more appealing to audiences other than teens trying to get in touch with the bands they like. Generally speaking, MySpace has to choose whether they want to fight Facebook or try to sustain their user base. It’d be interesting to see if they can do both, but only time will tell. Long gone are the days when MySpace first appeared and raised to heights no other Social Network can rise to again, they finally need to work with an attitude of a market shark, otherwise MySpace could be a fad that’s as popular as yesteryear’s parachute pants.

Mobile Social Networking

Heather — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:32:36 +0000

With social networking websites like Facebook, Myspace and Twitter gaining popularity every day, it’s no surprise that mobile social networking is on the rise, too.

A number of today’s mobile phones and devices are now equipped with internet access so people can now gain access to these websites with little or no barrier. In fact, some cell phones are even designed to make visiting a social networking website easier.

Advantages of mobile social networking

Freedom to stay connected no matter if you’re enjoying a day at the park or waiting for a flight at the airport.
Ease of use. Now you don’t have to be tethered to a cumbersome desktop computer to update your ’status’ online.
The ability to send and receive quick messages to family and friends without logging into an Email program.

Disadvantages of mobile social networking

Cost. Wireless plans don’t come for free, so be sure that your calling plan isn’t going to cost you a small fortune for accessing your favorite social networking website.
Social Networking addiction. With no reason to log out, you might end up spending an inordinate amount of time “Twittering.”
The truth is, social networking is fun to do and the ability to upload photos and video from your mobile phone makes the experience more interactive – it’s almost like bringing your friends and family with you wherever you go!

Myspace Opens Submissions For “Married On Myspace”

Heather — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 18:41:44 +0000

Are you a fan of Myspace? Are you engaged to be married?

If so, Myspace.com recently announced that they are taking submissions for their newest reality TV show, called Married On Myspace.

The interactive online series will allow one lucky couple to receive the wedding of a lifetime while the MySpace community contributes to planning and experiencing their big day first hand.

The series consists of 13 webisodes and Myspace users will ultimately decide all the details of the nuptials, including the location the lucky couple will marry, where they’ll hold their respective bachelor and bachelorette parties and even what they’ll wear!

If you, or someone you know would like to submit your application to participate, please visit Married On Myspace.

MySpace Cheating

admin — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 20:10:56 +0000

MySpace is such a part of people’s lives, that it’s not surprising the popular social networking service is being blamed for relationship woes. One such star-struck lover wondered if her man was cheating because of his behavior on MySpace. It seems the lout was engaged in such activity as adding primarily female friends, who then left suggestive comments on his profile.

Do I think he’s going out and sleeping with these women? Probably not. I’m pretty sure he’s just playing pretend. He’s hitting mid-life. He just upped his commitment level to a woman (you) by moving in with her. He wants to play “I’m still young, rich, and single.” Understandable.

That said, he is lying – to you and to these women. He’s not just “socializing.” He’s playing a computer game, a Sim City, of sorts, where he can be whoever he wants to be. The problem is, MySpace isn’t Sim City. It’s a network of real people, some of whom are local. MySpace is not a game.

Or maybe the poor guy just got spammed due to his profile security settings. All my friends on MySpace are hot chicks too!

MySpace To Use Google Gears

admin — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 13:55:25 +0000

MySpace has announced plans to integrated Google Gears with their social networking platform.

He did talk about the new music service launching this month that will partner with the major labels, offer free streaming, and include some original content from its audience of 120 million members. DeWolfe said that MySpace is very focused on making the new service a success, with more than 70 people, including top MySpace management, working on the project. He was asked if Amazon was providing the downloading capabilities, but declined to answer. MySpace has a strong music foundation, and may be able to make some inroads into the Apple/iTunes territory.

The feature won’t be available for a few months, but when it is, MySpace members will be able to update their profiles using Google Gears.

Bebo, Facebook And YouTube Targeted For Political Ads

admin — Wed, 14 May 2008 13:08:24 +0000

The Lisbon Referendum Commission is looking to change public policy, so they’ve decided to advertiser where they think their voters are, namely the major social networks. They feel that young people are using the sites, and that’s what makes them a good place to advertise.

Chairman of the commission, Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O’Neill, said that the commission would not engage in debate around the treaty issues.

However, he said the commission believes, in its considered opinion, that Ireland’s position on neutrality and tax would not be altered by the Lisbon Treaty.

The Referendum Commission is an independent body set up by law to ensure voters are informed about the issues involved in the 12 June referendum.

As well as providing impartial information, its role is to encourage citizens to vote

Bebo, Facebook, and YouTube are generally considered to be the most popular destinations for most of the world’s youths.

MySpace Wins $230 Million Anti-Spam Case

Heather — Wed, 14 May 2008 12:51:09 +0000

Spamming has turned out to be expensive business for the “Spam King” Sanford Wallace and his associate Walter Rines.

A federal judge in Los Angeles awarded MySpace.com $230 million dollars in damages for the “Spam King’s” activity at the popular social networking website. Myspace sued under the federal anti-spam law that incurs a $100.00 penalty for each spam – This penalty is tripled if it’s found that the violation happened intentionally. Wallace and Rines did not show up for the court hearing.

They are accused of sending more than 730,000 messages to fake “friends” with recommendations of “cool” websites that ended up being money making schemes.

It’s just another example of how spamming doesn’t pay..

MySpace Launches New Application Gallery

admin — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 21:57:22 +0000

MySpace has launched a new applications gallery. The new gallery is stocked with over 1,000 new applications that are made specifically for MySpace users to post in their profiles.

Steve Pearman, MySpace vice president of product strategy, said at the O’Reilly Web 2.0 Expo here that the content of the gallery was driven by user requests for rich applications that provide an engaging experience and include strong privacy protections and insulation from spam.

“What’s been launched is a direct reflection of these desires,” he said. “That whole project has been driven by user input on what they want out of our apps. You have to check your ego at the door. It is not about what we want. It is about what the community needs.”

If you have a MySpace account, you can jump right over to the new Apps Gallery, and start adding applications instantly.

Expect the Gallery to grow a lot in coming months, as MySpace pushes the new service.

MySpace Launches Election Hub

Heather — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:28:26 +0000

With the upcoming elections not that far off, MySpace recently announced that they launched an election hub for members of their community to use.

Along with MSNBC, MySpace members can access the latest political news, watch videos and participate in discussions about Presidential candidates and political issues. Users can also upload their own content to the site.

If you’d like to use MySpace’s election hub, it can be accessed at Decision ‘08.