[99semaj]

Latest statistics suggest attempts to kick new life into MySpace may be failing.

Tech industry analysts comScore say figures show MySpace lost more than 10 million unique users worldwide between January and February.

There were almost 63 million users of MySpace in February 2011, down from more than 73 million.

Year on year the site has lost almost 50 million users, down from close to 110 million in February 2010.

The loss of users comes despite a series of changes to the site to make it more about music.

It was the social network site that helped launch the careers of artists like Arctic Monkeys, Kate Nash and Lily Allen.

But so far this year MySpace has already announced plans to cut half its workforce.

Falling numbers

Around 500 staff are going worldwide.

Five years ago it was booming and for many was the first place to visit to talk to friends and listen to music.

But the arrival of sites likes Facebook has changed the face of social networking.

In the UK, 2.3 million people used the site in February 2011.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp bought the company for £330 million back in 2005.

If they were to sell today, they might get as little as £50 million for it.

What a horrifying investment loss. What's even scarier is that Facebook and Twitter could easily suffer the same site-du-jour fate in the next couple of years. I think Twitter is already grossly over hyped by the media...

 

[NeilN]

"Next couple years"? I don't think so. MySpace was never embraced by regular adults like Facebook has been. Something has to pop up that's substantially more attractive than Facebook and I haven't read about anything that comes close. Twitter is more vulnerable to a shift as it's significantly less sticky but people have still put in time developing their following/follower lists.

 

[cooper83]

As somebody who joined MySpace as an amateur musician, it lost its appeal the moment big-named bands & artists started joining. And then the constant spam from every indie band on the planet requesting to be friends. And the porn stars. The moment I quit my band I closed my account.

I'm secretly hoping Facebook & Twitter follow down the same path.

 

[PFD]

I don't think FB will die; it's become a ubiquitous part of our culture in a way that MySpace never did. That said, it can kill itself if it continues on its current path of commercialization. I will never "Like" anything again, since that's just an invitation to be continually spammed.

TWitter? I still don't get it. I think once people realize it's just a marketing tool, people may eventually get tired of it. Like there are 15,000 followers of "Coke". Why? Pepsi has 60,000...make of that what you want.

 

[jvincent]

I can see Twitter surviving since the concept of a subscription based, push notification system has merit.

 

[hugh]

While it may have 63 million now, my guess it will be virtually gone in to 2 to 3 years. Champ to chump in 7 or 8 years!

I think FB will be around for many years. The idea of a place on the web to call your own is pretty appealing and FB fills that need.

I think Twitter will find a niche but I can't see it being very profitable so I can't see a lot of investments being made in it to grow it further

 

[james99]

The novelty of Facebook is wearing off while Twitter is just starting.

Unlike Facebook, Twitter actually has a useful purpose. It's like Oil vs. Gold. Oil is twitter and Gold is Facebook.

Gold has limited purpose.

 

[PFD]

What purpose does Twitter have? It's a huge corporate marketing tool, yes; but once the kids figure that out, they'll move on. FB on the other hand is all about marketing yourself to your friends. That appeals to the egotism in us all.

 

[jvincent]

Twitter = subscription based push notification.

That has a very large appeal for a lot of reasons. Yes, people will continue to use it fan their ego's by telling the masses when they are going for coffee or taking a dump.

But used as a corporate marketing tool it has the potential to drive revenue. That alone makes it a potential game changer.

 

[james99]

The usefulness of something really depends on how one uses it.

I don't care what goddess Charlie Sheen is banging but I do care about news, weather, sports, etc which is all pushed to my phone (even when I'm on vacation with no internet).

Twitter is always the place I found out what's going on in the world since my phone is always with me.

 

[Tezster]

I can't speak to FB or Twitter's viability from a business or financial standpoint, but I think both of them are ubiquitos enough in real-world sense that they won't just "go away" - Twitter, especially. The role social media has played as a tool to affect change i.e. if you look at what happened in Egypt, specifically, shouldn't be discounted.

 

[pappcam]

The usefulness of something really depends on how one uses it.

I don't care what goddess Charlie Sheen is banging but I do care about news, weather, sports, etc which is all pushed to my phone (even when I'm on vacation with no internet).

Twitter is always the place I found out what's going on in the world since my phone is always with me.

This is the exact reason I use Twitter.

Back on topic, MySpace was always a poorly designed website especially with some of the really nasty looking custom sites people had on there. It reminded me of going to someone's nasty Geocities website back in the day. It may have served it's purpose back in the day but having a Facebook page with videos posted to YouTube seems to be the way to go.

 

[gobisbay]

An excellent point, Facebook replaced MySpace which replaced everyone's Geocities, Angelfire, Tripod, etc... pages. Prior to that, there was AOL. All of those are gone or essentially gone. Something different (not necessarily better) will come along and people will flock to that.

The same goes for Twitter. I created an account a year ago and followed a couple people, one of which was Chad Ochocino. He must have tweeted 50 times a day. How can I follow that? I don't know what anyone else was posting because it was all lost in a sea of garbage from Ocho. I dumped my account after a week. There's lots of worthwhile info on Twitter, but I'm not following 5,000 people for the odd valuable tidbit. I'd rather read a news article stating that "so-and-so" broke the news on his/her Twitter feed. I don't need to know 10 seconds after it happened, unless it involves me personally. I often hear coworkers talk about Jack Campbell's Twitter feed (he's the goalie for the Windsor Spitfires). These are grown men discussing a 17-year old boy's tweets. Our society is in the crapper.

 

[dm_4u]

What purpose does Twitter have? It's a huge corporate marketing tool, yes; but once the kids figure that out, they'll move on. FB on the other hand is all about marketing yourself to your friends. That appeals to the egotism in us all.

Twitter will work...fantasy sports alone draws millions towards the need for instantly knowing who is injured and for how long.

I would also assume that people who make book on sports use Twitter continuously.

Those two reasons alone are why Twitter will be here long after other social media is gone.

 

[dm_4u]

I often hear coworkers talk about Jack Campbell's Twitter feed (he's the goalie for the Windsor Spitfires). These are grown men discussing a 17-year old boy's tweets. Our society is in the crapper.

You do realize that Fantasy Sports is a multi-million dollar (and growing) industry that relies on the ability to know important information before someone else...especially if you are distributing it for profit.

Information is money!

In fact...fantasy sports has grown so big...that MLB has made a stat, that is only for the use of fantasy baseball players...WHIP (Walks/Hits vs Innings Pitched)...it has no other useful purpose to real baseball.

Fantasy Sports and betting drives sports...so sports assists betting and fantasy sports...so lots of teams encourage their players to tweet.

It's like the NFL injury report that comes out at the exact same time every week...what purpose does it serve other than to assist people who bet?

 

[99semaj]

While FB is appealing to many users, its ability to survive depends on its ability to monetize itself ong-term. Currently it's value is based on it's ability to sell shares, not fundamentals such as profit or cashflow.

Once it stops suckling the vencap teat, we shall see.

 

[gobisbay]

You do realize that Fantasy Sports is a multi-million dollar (and growing) industry that relies on the ability to know important information before someone else...especially if you are distributing it for profit.

I don't see too many OHL fantasy leagues.

If you know of one, please pass on the info so I can keep these clowns busy at work.

 

[dm_4u]

No...not to many OHL fantasy leagues...wait a minute...aren't you writing from work

However...right now there are several Prospect magazines (print and online) that are being put together for sale at the end of May. (prior to NHL draft day in June)

What Jack may devuldge may or may not be important...but he could let slip that someone has a drinking problem accidently...by simply stating so and so was late again to practice...and those things matter as they never make mainstream media.

Ever wonder why a certain guy was rated in the top 10 yet somehow slips down the draft on draft day...the insiders like Bob McKenzie will state that they are surprised...but they know why...the kid is either a head case (can't be coached)...or has an issue...(drinking, gambling or parents).

Having this information is really important...as the guy may not be drafted until the 2nd round...yet his talent is off the charts...so if he ever turns off his problem...he'll be lights out.

If you as an editor of a magazine...online or print...can say watch this guy...I've got a gut feeling about him...and no other mag has the info...and the kid turns it around...you are suddenly a genious and the only one who predicted this...ie...knowledge is money!