Social networking site MySpace in decline

July 25, 2010 by Alexei M

MySpace has always been pitted against Facebook when it comes to vying for members. As the two most popular social networking sites, there has been a healthy rivalry between them since they were launched. However, the distance between Facebook and MySpace has been increasing, as the popularity of MySpace diminishes.

Since 2008, online social networkers have been deserting MySpace in favour of Facebook. Initially marketed for a younger audience than Facebook, MySpace has been seeing a fall in users of up to 49 percent over the past twelve months, as visitors to the site reduce. Online users of the site have dropped from six and a half million to just over three million within one year. The site, at the height of its popularity, enjoyed one hundred million users, but Facebook’s growing popularity is seeing MySpace take a back seat.

The announcement follows news this week that Facebook has reached 500 million registered users. Twitter, the other popular networking site, enjoys over four million users, and its audience has more than doubled within the past year. Almost eighty percent of people online in the UK use Facebook.

MySpace has cut two thirds of its UK staff, and lost two important board members. Owned by Rupert Murdoch following a £351 million deal struck in 2005, the site seems to be declining rapidly. The site owners have done everything possible to encourage and retain users, including revamping functionality, and broadening its scope to encompass music streaming and subscription.

Many people who have fond memories of MySpace at its most popular will be saddened by the innovative and user-friendly site’s decline in popularity. MySpace bosses will have to think hard about which direction they will take the social networking site in, in order to turn its drop in fortunes around for the future.

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Category: Social NetworkingTags: MySpace |

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2 Comments

1. [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Elise Sandstrom, Anna Wilson, sheeba, Donna Pierce, Top Click Media and others. Top Click Media said: Staff Blog: Social networking site MySpace in decline http://bit.ly/dmb5VV [...]

   Pingback by Tweets that mention Social networking site MySpace in decline -- Topsy.com — July 25, 2010 @ 11:52 am

2. 

   Nothing that Rupert Murdoch’s team does will save Myspace. They are the ones who killed it.

   Myspace was famous because Users loved the original features. Tom and Users are the ones who made Myspace a success.

   Myspace was popular, because of its creative and unique features, but after Rupert Murdoch bought it, his people took away all those great features and replaced them with crappy ones, called them Upgrades, but they were really Downgrades. Murdoch’s people have been trying to turn Myspace into a Facebook ever since. But most Myspace users didn’t like Facebook and vice-versa. Now Myspace place is a bad version of Facebook.

   Myspace is dead, dying. It will never be resurrected, because the great features will never be restored. Murdoch’s people want it to be like Facebook. Myspace chased away all of its die-hard Users, and now it’s losing hundreds of millions of dollars.

   The mistake Rupert Murdoch’s people made was not caring about the Users. They made changes that Users didn’t want or need, and Users complained, they didn’t give a hoot. They took away personalized Customer Care and gave Users Automated Replies.

   August 12, 2010: “MySpace unveils ‘Facebook-style’ homepage’ http://www.wisdeo.com/articles/view_post/8470

   I hear in the months ahead that the 3.0 profile version is going to be forced on Myspace Users and CSS code will become obsolete. If that’s true, they might as well bury Myspace. Even if that doesn’t happen, the damage is already done and it’s irreversible.

   Myspace used to be my FAVORITE online place. I don’t hang out there anymore, because I can’t stand the new downgraded features. Besides, Myspace is dead. The majority of Users have left. I never liked Facebook, and now I don’t like Myspace.

   Tom’s ingenuity & Users made Myspace place what it was. Both are gone now. All good things come to an end.

   Comment by Sam — August 23, 2010 @ 12:59 am

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