Is there still room for Myspace?

Is there still room for Myspace?

Facebook is the top social media site-I think everyone can agree on that, but before Mark Zuckerberg, there was Tom. Tom was the face of the other social media site, Myspace. When I was in high school, Myspace was the only social networking site anyone really used. It was all the rage with its customizable profiles, music playlists, and no one can forget those wonderfully annoying chain posts. Then I went to college, and no one used Myspace anymore, the new place to be was Facebook. Unfortunately for Myspace, millions of users began to switch and the site suffered a huge loss in revenue. After being bought by Justin Timberlake and making some major changes, Myspace is hoping to reclaim some of its social media glory.

After losing its popularity, Myspace needed a major branding overhaul. Myspace was always known for its music pages, which allowed users to easily discover and share new music, and the company hopes that focusing on that feature will attract members. The site is redesigned with a cleaner template similar to other sites like Facebook and Twitter. Mashable.com’s Pete Pachal thinks the new version is a success, stating, “MySpace is back, and it's no exaggeration to say it's better than ever.”

A recent US News article by Danielle Kurtzleben shows that some industry experts are not as impressed. Natalie Petouhoff, a professor at UCLA, stated, “what’s the point of this…I think a lot of consumers are suffering from social fatigue, which is too many places to go, too many places to comment, to like, to tweet.” Kurtzleben points out that Myspace’s main improvement, a more interactive music playlist, cannot compete with sites like Spotify.

Will Myspace be able to make a comeback? I think it’s too early to tell. As an avid music lover, I always enjoy finding new ways to enjoy music, but I am afraid that Myspace might have lost its appeal a long time ago. Myspace executives seem to have done a good job of improving the brand, but the key behind any future success will be to get users talking again. After all, word of mouth is the most powerful marketing tool.