Is MySpace Dead or Still Alive and Kicking?
The question is, how many people have heard of Myspace? It’s a social networking site that was launched in 2003 by various members of an internet marketing company, who were already members of another networking site themselves. They saw the potential, and due to their experience and knowledge, had little trouble in setting up the new site. It is based in California and owned by a large media network. It was in fact the most popular networking site in the United States from 2006 until 2008, constantly beating all its competitors.
In 2006 Myspace launched a UK version to try to get into the UK music scene, which was successful. They have since done the same in China and other countries. The site has continued to stick to its focus on the entertainment and music industry, building an audience around this. Consequently they attracted many teenage members, and this was a contributory factor to their decline in membership starting in 2008. Their competitors such as Facebook were developing sites that were easier to use and aimed towards the general population, thereby attracting more age groups and users.
In an attempt to win back popularity, Myspace stopped trying to compete with the other sites and instead promoted itself as a social entertainment website, going as far as to provide links with the other networks’ sites. It has completely redesigned its look and has provided more categories on the site. In common with other networking sites users can create profiles, find or add friends, belong to groups or communities who share the same interests, and keep updated on events and news. One disadvantage of Myspace seems to be that users can actually create their own pages, even inexperienced web users. This has caused problems on the site, causing it to freeze often. However, all networking sites have had security problems at some time.
Myspace is therefore a more specialized social network site used mostly by teenagers, musicians and other artists. Many people who signed up for MySpace in its early days have since either closed their account or simply do not use it. They have instead gone over to other network sites that provide a broader range of opportunities. It would appear that the number of MySpace users is considerably less than its major rival, and in the beginning of 2011 it was put up for sale. Whether in this age of ever-changing fads it is dead, is another question.
Regardless of the social media site. Savvy Giraffe will always be ahead of the game! If something is deemed “dead” you can bet we’ll already be gone. If you hire Savvy for your social media marketing, you never have to worry about where to spend your time.
