http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_27/b4235053917570.htm
On businessweek.com they had an article by Felix Gilette discussing how Myspace rose and fell. The article was the featured cover story in June but the article is still relevant now because of how it influenced social media. Myspace had millions of users logged on and networking. Now there is significantly fewer Myspace users despite the company’s effort to compete against Facebook and other social networking sites.
I found this article to be very informing about the business side of social networking web sites. It explained how News Corp. spent $580 million purchasing Myspace and put it on sale for $100 million. That is the loss costs the company faced when Myspace’s popularity fell. The article also discussed the millions of dollars spent on advertising on the website. I remember when I was getting more into Facebook and less into Myspace when I noticed that Myspace began to bombard users with ads on the home page and the personal pages. I thought this was a good lesson on how fads come and go especially in today’s culture where popularity of something only lasts so long.
On businessweek.com they had an article by Felix Gilette discussing how Myspace rose and fell. The article was the featured cover story in June but the article is still relevant now because of how it influenced social media. Myspace had millions of users logged on and networking. Now there is significantly fewer Myspace users despite the company’s effort to compete against Facebook and other social networking sites.
I found this article to be very informing about the business side of social networking web sites. It explained how News Corp. spent $580 million purchasing Myspace and put it on sale for $100 million. That is the loss costs the company faced when Myspace’s popularity fell. The article also discussed the millions of dollars spent on advertising on the website. I remember when I was getting more into Facebook and less into Myspace when I noticed that Myspace began to bombard users with ads on the home page and the personal pages. I thought this was a good lesson on how fads come and go especially in today’s culture where popularity of something only lasts so long.
I still can't believe that Myspace is dying off. I remember when I had my Myspace account and how addicted I was to it so it's kind of sad to me that it's doing so poorly. I guess it's what you might call a fad.
ReplyDeleteDespite Myspace's decreasing popularity, I believe it was highly influential. It really helped people express themselves and their identity online by customizing their background, posting pictures of themselves, etc. Additionally, Myspace allowed me to browse around and make friends with people all over the world. I think that this is the biggest difference between Myspace and Facebook for me. On Myspace I could socially interact with people I didn’t know very well. On Facebook, however, I only add and interact with people that are in my real life network.
Your statement about our cultural fads is so very true. Your examination of MySpace is an ideal example, but I also consider the impact felt by Netflix, Cisco's Flip video recorders and Tickle Me Elmo; fads that rise quickly and then begin to fall or crash and burn altogether.
ReplyDeleteAn investment in new media or social communication is a risky endeavor at this point. With a $400 million loss for MySpace as a backdrop, I think of the recent missteps of Google as potentially facing similar repercussions. Earlier this week, Google released a new app for to control Gmail for iPhone users, which lasted all of two hours before it was pulled for "bugs" (i.e. huge backlash). Then, there's Google+, which is not attracting users at the speed it projected and may quickly come to the crossroads decision of whether to stay or go.
Nevertheless, whether it fails or succeeds, these recent corporate decisions will become fodder for analysts for years to come.
--CG
MySpace did fall of hard I mean I do not know many people who still use myspace.Myspace was really popular when I was in high school then as soon as people found out about Facebook they join and forgot all about myspace. At least the guy who created it sold it when it was still popular and made a huge profit. I wonder when something else will come alone and make Facebook irrelevant. I also do not think it is a good idea to flood those users of myspace with ads trying to convince them to continue to use myspace. It might just cause them to loss the users that they have now.
ReplyDeleteI remember when Facebook started gaining popularity over Myspace too. I was one of the last of my friends to "abandon" Myspace (mostly because Facebook still required a college email address to get an account and my college didn't have student emails), so it was really sad for me to see the activity of those in my network dwindle down to nothing. This kind of makes me wonder if Facebook is doomed to experience something similar. I can definitely see how Facebook has a broader appeal (Myspace always seemed so high school-y while Facebook comes across as more professional), so maybe that will give it an advantage and keep it from being a short-lived fad. I guess we'll have to wait and see!
ReplyDelete