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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