I just canceled my Myspace account after not signing in for over two years. It became obsolete and annoying because of its constant advertisement/privacy issues. Abandoning Myspace made me feel a little guilty and restless. It was my first social media experiment as well as for other amateurs back then.
It is hard to believe that just a couple of years ago Myspace was the star of the moment, everyone was on it. Those who were not, were considered socially backwards by their friends. Its similar to today's "you are not on Facebook?" disapproving comment. Even when Facebook first started getting popular it was tough to move hardcore "myspacers" to a different platform.
But what went wrong? Did the new Facebook fad simply took over like it often happens in fashion? Is the bad management to blame? Lack of timely technological advances? Or maybe all of the mentioned and more?
The faulty design was actually one of Myspace's major problems. The layout system, complicated page navigation, links in disarray, and general disorganization of the site made it hard to navigate. Its focus on advertisers over users alienated a lot of customers. A few wanted to deal with having to periodically close giant ads and fight with pop ups while opening personal profiles.
This faulty platform design may have actually been caused by lack of innovation. Due to the fact that the site was making good money on advertisement, the managing team didn't feel like staying tuned to market clues and trends. All these problems were bearable for consumers in the beginning, because Myspace was a novelty and the good ol' boy Tom was everyone's friend at that time! :) People felt identified with him creating a feel of comradery.
Recently, in order to re-vamp the website. Myspace launched Myspace music. However, the new feature is not very user friendly and didn't deliver everything it promised . So instead of becoming a Myspace savior it may be one of its latest failures.
Despite all the turmoil, Myspace is still visited by millions of people a month and is one of the most popular websites in the world. However, it needs to lift its reputation and transform in order to attract new and recover old subscribers. It should find a big star/trend setter to endorse it. Who is the Puff Daddy or Kim Kardashian of its target market? Today the majority of products are moved by using celebrity endorsements for consumers' identification with them (the so called identification type of consumer influence). Once the influential star creates a real Myspace profile, updates it all the time, and tweet about how much fun she or he is having on the new Myspace, the rest will follow.
Another feature to add is to include valuable, user generated content. For example, users should be able to post local news and events. How great would it be to let amateur news reporters and writers to write on the site and create unique articles socially linked to different profiles? Adding more substance wouldn't hurt. These two features plus working on the Myspace music to make it truly functional and user friendly could revive the fallen giant. However, without creativity and innovation, Myspace executives should save their effort and energy, because there is not future for them continuing on the same stagnant path with all the new social media websites popping up around the world.
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Anna
ReplyDeleteYou brought up a very good point about celebrity endorsement. This channel is now being used by many brands around the world, and in a market with a very high proliferation, celebrity endorsement provides a distinct differentiation. Now, how hard it is when even Tila Tequila, who achieved fame by building an audience on MySpace, says she prefers Facebook.
Also, none of the two most popular social networks are being endorsed by anyone. Kim Kardashian is not getting paid by Twitter for posting something, I believe. These two networks are there to keep people connected with their friends, artists and favorite brands.
I don’t think any conventional idea would work for MySpace to make a big come back. They have to do something the audience hasn’t see before, and do it fast because they are running out time while Facebook is getting bigger every day
I think Myspace should use ANYTHING & EVERYTHING right now. Whether it be having a celebrity like Kanye West (without interruptions on how Facebook is better of course). Yet, I believe they have to make multiple changes, including a entire corporate change in the way they use to do business and what their website was before towards what people currently want and use now on Facebook, Twitter, and other popular sights. Hopefully, they take some action sooner than later!
ReplyDeleteSomething else that could save MySpace aside from celebrity endorsements and any other helping hand for that matter would be awareness of its mobile app. Their target market (ages 13-35) are busy and on the go people who don't have time to sit at a computer all day and browse the site via desktop or laptop computer. As I was writing this I logged into the apple app store to double check because I didn't know such a thing existed, but sure enough, MySpace has an app. Who knew?! Dare I download it? lol.
ReplyDeleteI definitively don't think that finding a credible and good celebrity endorser would be east, but it can be done.
ReplyDeleteKim Kardashian doesn't get paid by twitter for tweeting about stuff, but believe it or not she gets paid a lot of money by companies or products which she tweets about :). So its mutually beneficial...
Maybe a similar Myspace celebrity should get paid by the company under the table or get shares in it... in order to make it work for the celebrity. The idea of paying the celebrity is a little controversial because instead of recommending the network because they "love" it they would recommend it because they got paid by it. However, all the athletes endorsing Gatorade or sporting goods get paid for them and we still buy listen to their advice and buy them.
HI Anna, I agree with you when you say that it will take “creativity and innovation” to change the future of MySpace. As of right now MySpace is under the category of “general” but what if it was changed to something more specific? I see Facebook as being a website where I can keep in touch with friends but what if I want to advertise myself. If MySpace went from being under the category of “general” to something called “personal advertising” I think they could make a big comeback. The idea of MySpace being a site where people can advertise themselves free of cost could change the way we do business.
ReplyDeleteFor example I love to paint and have hundreds of paintings just sitting around that I wish I could sell if only people would see me as professional. If I could make a profile on MySpace, which looked professional, with all of my information, and free of charge I could get business. MySpace could become the new electronic business card. People would be able to see what you offer as a product or service and have the option of contacting you personally through the site. I know that this idea is similar to that of the eBay stores but the difference is that it would be free of charge, and no items would be bought or sold through the website. It would not compete with eBay or Facebook but instead it could be another tool to help people become known.
Imagine having a tool box with ebay, Facebook, MySpace, and PayPal all integrated. You would use Facebook to keep up with friends, MySpace to advertise yourself to customers, a link on your MySpace page to the product you’re selling on eBay or just have people contact you personally, and PayPal as a safe way to receive payments. My idea may not be unique and I wasn’t truly able to explain it very well but at this point I believe MySpace has many options for its revival.
Anna, I think you’re very brave for having deleted your Myspace account. I have considered deleting my account because I don’t go on Myspace anymore, but I realized I just can’t do it. Like you mentioned this was my first social networking site as well so it has sentimal value to me. I agree with you that Myspace basically discouraged their users because of the difficult layout of their page. The last time I logged on to my account I was so confused with the arrangement and location of certain options and that gave me a headache. I think Myspace should work on making their layout more user friendly so they could be on the same level of popularity as Facebook or even take back the number one position of best social networking website. Today’s generation of young adults are influenced by what their favorite celebrities do, whether the celebrity mentions a product or website on Twitter or in a television interview, etc. So you’re right when you say that Myspace could gain their users back if they use celebrities to endorse their site. If a celebrity like Kim Kardashian or P. Diddy were to mention that they love going on Myspace, you’ll see the sites hits increase within seconds. One of the reasons why I created my Myspace account was to keep up with my favorite artists on their music page. If Myspace keeps their music pages up to date and make it easy to navigate through, they will have constant visitors checking out the pages of popular artists. I believe Myspace has a chance to make their comeback and gain the popularity that they once had. It’s going to take a lot of research to see what people are interested in and it’s also going to take time. The bottom line is that they could do it if they put their minds to it.
ReplyDeleteI agree about the celebrity endorsements! They also need media coverage. When you watch the news now they are constantly showing celebrities "Twittering & updating Facebook posts." MySpace will need to integrate its services with those of Twitter/MySpace and now the up and coming Tumbler site for blogs, pics, etc. MySpace had a leg up on the competition when they thought "locally." Users could search for bands/musicians in there areas, you could even go to MySpace and search for job openings in your area. I actually found an internship on MySpace. If they could find a way to bring the music lovers back by possibly offering free music downloads, keeping the musician pages up to date as Melissa said and even offering contests for the best music upload of the week etc. The future musicians will want to gather for exposure and record execs looking for the next Justin Bieber can search among the thousands of possible future stars. I also agree with all of you that the layout needs to be simplified. There is much room for improvement which can be looked at as much room for opportunity! I'm excited to see what the future buyer has in store for MySpace.
ReplyDeleteI deleted my MySpace account because I got tired of all the ads. I don't miss it!
ReplyDeleteI think it will take MySpace more than just creativity and innovation to keep going. It definitely needs a completely new strategy and a well defined target market; plus MySpace, in my opinion, (and I agree with you on this one) would have to change its layout and make the profiles easier to navigate.
If you've ever heard of Hi5 (it was more popular in Latin America) you can tell it's in the same boat as MySpace. I still have mi Hi5 account for the same reasons many people haven't been able to delete their MySpace: It was my first social networking site so I feel 'sentimentally attached' to it.