MySpace Abandons Social Networking
So long social networking, hello social entertainment. That's the motto at MySpace which this week unveiled a new logo and a site redesign intended to redefine the company as a "social entertainment destination for Gen Y."
So long social networking, hello social entertainment. That’s the motto at MySpace which this week unveiled a new logo and a site redesign intended to redefine the company as a “social entertainment destination for Gen Y.”
The new site will put the News Corp.-owned MySpace out of competition with the likes of Facebook and Twitter and into a whole new category of entertainment hub.
Starting today, users will be able to access the site‘s most-popular music and videos, updated in real time. Their new MySpace experience will be tailored to their tastes, with a personalized stream, recommendations feature, content hubs, trending topics and a customizable background page, a feature not currently available on Facebook.
The new design is less cluttered and lets users choose between three different views: the traditional list; a magazine-like grid view; and the play view, through which users can watch and resize their updates to full screen.
The changes come as the social-networking pioneer seeks to regain its mojo after being unable to attract older users and quickly falling behind Twitter and Facebook. MySpace’s roughly 130 million users are mostly under 35, while Facebook’s fastest-growing user base is the 35+ crowd.
MySpace averaged 57.5 million U.S. visitors in September, a 24 percent drop from its peak of 75.9 million users in December 2008, according to ComScore. Facebook has more than 500 million members worldwide.
MySpace CEO Mike Jones said the relaunch “pulls us out of the social networking category” to become a social entertainment destination. So instead of sharing photos or connecting with your high school sweetheart, MySpace wants users to find out about new bands, chat about TV shows and make movie recommendations.
The redesign also follows in the path of Foursquare with a loyalty program that rewards users who attract followers by contributing content. MySpace will promote the profiles of members who upload videos and post on a topic, designate super users as “taste makers,” and provide “curators” with resources and tools to expand their reach.
The new version will be available worldwide by the end of November. A MySpace app for the iPhone and Android handsets will also be released “later this year,” according to the company.
