domingo, 27 de marzo de 2011

MySpace lost 10 million users in a month; Close within the year? - ZDNet (blog)

The latest statistics suggests that MySpace is on its way out, as one of the longest serving social networks on the web.

comScore figures show that MySpace losts 10 million users last month. As the cornerstone to the younger days of the Generation Y, the site is facing dark days after it had lost nearly 50 million users from over the course of last year.

Since the site moved away from 'traditional' social networking to a more music based site, MySpace chief executive Mike Jones conceded defeat to Facebok, arguing that the site is "no longer a social network anymore", and that it was now a "social entertainment destination".

Since News Corp. bought the company for $530 million in 2005, MySpace cuts to jobs with over 500 staff worldwide being forced out of a job.

But if MySpace is losing so many in such a short space of time, could the site be offline come the end of the year?

MySpace is supported by a few notably large music groups, like the Arctic Monkeys and Lily Allen. But it's largely a one way street, with music artists seeing the site as a conduit for either better communication with fans and listeners, or a larger scope for potential sales.

However, if comScore figures are anything to go by - then it will not be long before artists cancel or fail to renew their contracts with the site, once they realise that there are better and more viable alternatives for users to take to.

While Facebook may not be the greatest place for a musician or artist to take to, YouTube is and has been a suitable alternative. With combined music and video, plus an interactive format that is keeping up with its userbase, it is a far more 'liberal' atmosphere. Though, granted, YouTube suffers from an excessive flamebait war problem, it is nevertheless an ideal, passive and 'non-sign-in' needed place to go to access reliable and interactive content.

News Corp. has failed MySpace by not allowing the site to keep up with the times. Perhaps it was used to access the numbers of users required to boost other sites, in a 'human shield' like defence? Either way, I would be surprised if MySpace survives the year.

It would be a shame to let it go, but there's only so many times one can transplant a new organ to an already dying body. 

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