MySpace Loses Millions Of Users In Just A Few Weeks – Could It Happen To Facebook?
Written by Rob Nichols on March 29, 2011 · Filed under Internet, Tech
Remember MySpace? Pretty much every pubescent socialite, unsigned artist or serial spammer at least had an account at some point, but the [sad] truth is, that it’s just not what it used to be. Why? It’s probably Mark Zuckerberg’s fault by taking Facebook to world domination of the social space.
The latest statistics emerging from industry analysts, as reported by the BBC, show that MySpace lost more than 10 millions users during the first two months of 2011. Considering that there was close to 110 million users in February of last year, and that figure grew worryingly close to just 60 million in the same month this year, there must be cause for concern in the MySpace headquarters.
Despite the fact that the people responsible for the site have made drastic changes to the site, making it almost entirely more focussed on the music industry, and despite the fact that MySpace is responsible for the careers of top of the pops artists like Arctic Monkeys, Kate Nash and Lily Allen, it seems only to be detrimental to the interest that the site can attract.
The fact is, whichever way you spin it, a social network is a social network. And a social network is only as strong as its users, so once a few disgruntled users find their way to Facebook, especially big names, it sends out ripples shockwaves through the entire userbase, causing a domino effect in which people move over to where their friends are….and even the crime moves to Facebook.
To put a monetary value on the problems MySpace is facing, Ruper Murdoch’s News Corp bought the company back in 2005 for a princely sum of £330 million. Should he sell it now, estimates suggest that they might receive as little as £50 million for it. Now I’m sure there are few that will shed a tear at the thought of Rupert Murdoch losing a few pennies, and by the looks of things even fewer care for the future of the site.
It’s a sad day, really, and it should serve as a warning to Mark Zuckerberg, should he care for his fortune at all, that social bubbles can burst, and social networks can crash.
What do you think to this news of MySpace? Do you still use it? Did you used to be a MySpace user? Is Zuckerberg doing enough to develop and innovate to ensure Facebook will continue to grow and never see this kind of decline?
Source: BBC
