MySpace, R.I.P.
gigaom.com
MySpace, R.I.P.
1–10 of 36 posts
Re: MySpace, R.I.P.
#2It's hard for me to understand why people still use MySpace. I've never had an account there, but from all the user profile pages (not sure if that's what they're called) I've visited, none have been easy on the eye. Facebook seems to be the much better option to me. The Facebook fan pages can be used by most bands to build their brand and market themselves (I've only ever seen Bands using MySpace - nobody I know uses it) - maybe they should create some way for people to migrate their MySpace accounts to Facebook - that'll probably speed up MySpace's demise.
Re: MySpace, R.I.P.
#3I don't have quick access to user numbers, but Google search trends is interesting (especially when you consider the readwriteweb example today of people typing 'facebook login' into google).
Here's the comparison of Facebook, Myspace, and Orkut - http://www.google.com/trends?q=facebook%2C+myspace%2C+orkut&...
Nothing surprising, except that there are some areas (USA? Tijuana??) where Myspace still out searches Facebook.
Re: MySpace, R.I.P.
#4The web doesn’t hold much attraction for Rupert Murdoch who is now enamored with e-readers and tablets.
Tablets, according to those in the know, are being viewed as saviors for News Corp.’s core business: news and information. He thinks that since devices are not that useful without his content; he eventually wins because he will get people to win. “Content is not just king, it is the emperor of all things electronic!” he recently said.
I think he's missing the point here.
a) Newscorp has flourished as a business because up until recently media has been an industry with a high barrier to entry. To paraphrase Warren Buffett, if you own the only newspaper in town it's a bit like owning a local monopoly. The same applies for television channels, etc. which have high upfront costs.
b) The problem facing Newscorp now is that the internet has lowered the barrier to entry dramatically, so that its size and financial clout is no longer a major advantage. For instance, would you rather read an article in a Newscorp paper or one of PGs essays? In the past it'd be hard for PG to get his essays out there, now it's much easier. This means a much higher level of competition, and competition destroys margins.
c) e-Readers/Tablets don't make the barrier to entry much higher. (You can publish stuff on the Kindle for free, for instance: https://dtp.amazon.com/mn/signin). Hence it's hard to see how he can compete in the tablet/e-Reader space any better than he could compete online.
Re: MySpace, R.I.P.
#5It's hard for me to understand why people still use MySpace. I've never had an account there, but from all the user profile pages (not sure if that's what they're called) I've visited, none have been easy on the eye. Facebook seems to be the much better option to me. The Facebook fan pages can be used by most bands to build their brand and market themselves (I've only ever seen Bands using MySpace - nobody I know use…
You need to look at it through the eyes of a teenage girl. People customize their myspaces in ways that Facebook will never allow, and it becomes part of their identity.
Here's an example: http://bit.ly/cLX6RT
Re: MySpace, R.I.P.
#6I think Myspace still has the band/musician space, largely because what Myspace allows and Facebook doesn't (restyling the page, embedded music player) are pretty necessary to artists asserting their brand identity. Which is really the main reason for them to have a presence.
Re: MySpace, R.I.P.
#7I think Myspace still has the band/musician space, largely because what Myspace allows and Facebook doesn't (restyling the page, embedded music player) are pretty necessary to artists asserting their brand identity. Which is really the main reason for them to have a presence.
Take a look at Bandcamp, it's the last nail in MySpace's coffin.
Main page, http://www.bandcamp.com/
Random couple of artist pages for an indication of the customization available, never mind the billing and music serving back end.
http://redfang.bandcamp.com/ http://danielaspector.bandcamp.com/
Re: MySpace, R.I.P.
#8It's hard for me to understand why people still use MySpace. I've never had an account there, but from all the user profile pages (not sure if that's what they're called) I've visited, none have been easy on the eye. Facebook seems to be the much better option to me. The Facebook fan pages can be used by most bands to build their brand and market themselves (I've only ever seen Bands using MySpace - nobody I know use…
You need to look at it through the eyes of a teenage girl. People customize their myspaces in ways that Facebook will never allow, and it becomes part of their identity. Here's an example: http://bit.ly/cLX6RT
That's a really well done page, unlike most of the eye-pain clutter people generally do.
Re: MySpace, R.I.P.
#9It's hard for me to understand why people still use MySpace. I've never had an account there, but from all the user profile pages (not sure if that's what they're called) I've visited, none have been easy on the eye. Facebook seems to be the much better option to me. The Facebook fan pages can be used by most bands to build their brand and market themselves (I've only ever seen Bands using MySpace - nobody I know use…
In the sub-world of Heavy Metal bands I know use MySpace and Facebook and see much more traction/interaction from their MySpace page. Their FB presence really only help fans add tour dates to their calendar. The MS page is used for contacting the band and listening to new/demo tracks.
It could be that people see FB as a personal network for them and their friends whereas MS is used for music discovery. I think you'd have to work in FB or MS to really know.
Re: MySpace, R.I.P.
#10The web doesn’t hold much attraction for Rupert Murdoch who is now enamored with e-readers and tablets. Tablets, according to those in the know, are being viewed as saviors for News Corp.’s core business: news and information. He thinks that since devices are not that useful without his content; he eventually wins because he will get people to win. “Content is not just king, it is the emperor of all things electronic…
"This means a much higher level of competition, and competition destroys margins."
This has wider implications on the ability to profit over the long run in a capitalist society. In open markets margins should tend to zero. It seems the only way to profit would be to have some edge in terms protected market (monopoly) or slight protected technical advantage for a short period. But once the protected advantages are gone margins should tend to zero. Therefore, this isn't just a problem of old media but of all markets.