When Myspace.com burst onto the scene back in 2003, it was an instant hit with teenagers looking to stay connected and share photos with their friends while meeting new ones. Myspace was so huge, media giant News Corporation dropped $500 Million to buy it. But after a couple years into the acquisition, News Corp began to have buyers remorse when all indications showed that it may have been a hyped purchase. Myspace.com was soon overrun with explicit content and advertising, lacking serious content filters and privacy policies. Users began to fall like flies as It became what many referred to as a hook up destination. Then Facebook.com happened and Myspace's decline went into a rapid decent. The site underwent many image remakes and site revamps in an effort to compete with the more secure and spam free Facebook. But those efforts didn't shift the needle at all. Myspace's last attempt at a remake came with a new branding strategy that was also a disaster right out the gate. The company rolled out a new logo and website design that only brought more headaches as users continued to defect to Facebook in droves. The last straw came back in June, when the site was sold to a private investment group which included pop singer and actor Justin Timberlake for just $35 million, a meager 7% of what it sold for when News Corp bought it. Today, the site is taking yet another shot at remaking itself, this time into a music hub for young males. Wonder if this was Justin TImberlake's idea because, this may be yet another epic fail for Myspace.
[AdAge]
