Myspace just can't get it right! or can they?

      You almost feel sorry for Myspace, my how they have fallen! Once valued at 12 BILLION, Singer turned actor turned wannabe media mogul purchased a controlling interest back in June/2011 for 35 Million. Even with Timberlake at the helm, say what you want the man is very smart (Jessica Beale-Timberlake need I say more?), they are sinking like a rock!  Alexa.com, a site that measure web traffic says even in the last 3 months it has lost almost 17% of its users and though every review I see seems to say the same thing Myspace doesn't learn. They all see the potential but the site is so incredibly flawed it could never be realized and so unfortunately Myspace will fold, completely and permanently in the next 2 years without a VERY serious overhaul!

       They did remove the rediculous eyesore of advertisements littered across the home page a few months ago so they can learn, but will they take the necessary steps to salvage their sinking ship in time for a revival? All of their users are screaming that the site is slow and unresponsive but there is no change. The homepage is XML but on other pages they appear to be clinging to the ancient HTML format in which today seems so ancient they might as well add a tile background and get it over with. It appears what originally made myspace so incredibly popular, the ability to embed your own HTML to change the appearance of your profile, will eventually be its downfall. I created a profile and attempted several times to log in and tour the sit and at first I literally almost gave up.

Generic HTML login page on MySpace.com

 
        Had to have been 15-20 times I would try to login and I kept finding myself on this generic login site, which I could have just chalked it up to maintenance or something but even here the code didn't work!  Click Login all you want and the page does nothing. After a continuous battle of web browsers and deleting cookies eventually I got lucky and made my way in! It wasn't until I used firefox that I was actually able to access my page, and BTW the first time I heard the media playing on the homepage. This is just the tip of the ice burg but how could they let this happen? I really couldn't answer that for you. I would imagine they would have engineers and testers constantly checking the functionality across all of the major browsers, maybe they are off today?

        I also recognize the potential for myspace but its inability to advance with the times will be its downfall. The band site pages are primitive at best, any media you access opens up a new window, the video player appears to imitate YouTube to a T and the search and navigation is horrendous!!! It took me way to long to actually start finding content that interested me and I only stuck with it so long for the assignment I writing this post for, otherwise would have given up.

         If myspace had A LOT more interest in the user than the content it sells they would have so much of an impact on the social scene! Facebook rules the social market now but they are on the decline though their numbers would tell you otherwise. The constant changes to the site, limits on content, invasion of the news feed with advertisements all demonstrate the same ineptitude. Both of these sites used to be strictly about the user... do they really think we won't notice or will simply just go along letting them shove their content down our throat? They both have the power of traffic and buzz now to turn it around but will they do it before the next social network comes?

        Facebook is public and owes to much to the shareholders to maximize profits so it's really not possible unless they magically come up with another way to pay their dividends. Myspace absolutely has the potential to do it but it won't be easy. I know MySpace has always been about the bands, but the music is for the audience so I think that should be the primary focus of the site. What is the point of promoting thousands of bands if the user that would be interested in them can't EASILY find them? How hard could it really be to require the user to answer a few simple questions here and there to keep a hold on their changing interests and offer content specific to them? Incorporate the original customization that made MySpace so awesome but it has to be controlled, offer it in variation of templates and an extensive way to manipulate and customize it so the user has more control and down goes Facebook like a shot in the gut!
       
       Think about it, music has always been a unifying force since the beginning of time!  Imagine you can create your own channel like youtube, with a social feed like facebook, be able to share photos like pinterest, get media suggestions based on your interests like NetFlix and be constantly up to date with the latest trending music based on your interests. The possibilities are limitless, but it has to be a complete overhaul, ONE THAT WILL BY ITSELF MAKE HEADLINES! Hey JT gimme a call and I'll show you the how to!