In January we wrote about rumors of MySpace launching a webmail product that would compete head on with Gmail, Yahoo Mail, etc. At launch it could be as large as some of the biggest players in the space.
The company has been reassigning internal email addresses (employeename@myspace.com) to a new domain name (@myspace-inc.com), which is exactly what Yahoo and others did when launching webmail services. There is no other reasonable explanation for the changeover, which is extremely disruptive to communications. That changeover had been happening quietly since late last year. But today Fox Interactive Media, the soon to be disbanded corporate parent of MySpace, sent an email to all MySpace employees. That email is copied below.
It doesn’t seem like much, but this is as good as confirmation that we’ll be seeing MySpace launching a full webmail product in the near future.
MySpace PR would not comment on this story. Fox Interactive Media hasn’t yet returned my call.
Greetings from FIM Corporate IT;
IT has assigned all MySpace employees login@myspace-inc.com corporate email addresses with an alias that matches your current login@myspace.com corporate email. Company-wide, MySpace is migrating from the login@myspace.com to login@myspace-inc.com. Effective immediately, all outward bound corporate emails will be sent FROM and will REPLY TO login@myspace-inc.com.
You will continue to receive all emails sent to login@myspace.com, however login@myspace-inc.com will be your primary corporate email address.
Feel free to update your email signatures however, there is currently no need to alert your contacts or order new business cards.
It’s our goal to make this migration as transparent and simple as possible. If you encounter any issues with your corporate email please contact FIM Helpdesk (FIMHelpdesk@fox.com)
Thank you for your time.
I don’t know if this would make want to move back to MySpace, since I already use Google/Google Apps, and my own mail server. Definitely a interesting feature!
Not sure I agree how interesting this is Daniel. As MySpace seems to be a spawn of self promoting banality, I doubt that their webmail product would be the genesis of anything different.
I completely agree with your point on self promoting banality, and now a days every one is adding a mail feature. I’m already happy with GMail/Google Apps. It’s interesting in the fact that it’s being collaborated inside MySpace…
Good private messaging is important for any social service. FB clubs message replies into thread – making for less cluttered and less spammy – neat inbox. Twitter lacks this badly.
Agreed, the move is in and of itself interesting. Simply the results will be dull. Anyone not using gmail (as opposed to a different webmail system) is a Luddite in my books.
I don’t think this is indicative of any future plans, maybe just an attempt to make the myspace corporate addresses seem more professional and less attached to the site and more towards a domain that implies it’s coming from someone who works there.
If they wanted to, they could always just reserve those email addresses and let users sign up for the unfilled addresses.
I really think e-mail would be a step forward for them, because their active userbase could automatically get an e-mail account assigned to their userids. If they promote it well enough they could gain some traction but not enough to take on GMail – which I doubt they can really compete with in both service and offerings.
this is not gonna help them much. they need to innovate outside the myspace name. the domain will never be considered a professional business address. whomever can give people custom email addresses that are relevant to what they do for a living would definitely be able to change the mail game.
ProfessionalLocator.com
- everyone is not created equal.
It’s called Gmail
gmail doesn’t give custom email addresses. It may give Jackisthebestplumber@gmail.com but not jack@bestplumber.com
Have you seen Google Apps? They use the Gmail interface and everything, and allow you to use custom domains: http://www.goog...roup/index.html
This has to be the most uneducated comment I’ve ever seen. YOU = FAIL
truthfully myspace seem to be innovating more then facebook.
I agree. They have a much nicer UI. Facebook needs to make up their freaking minds and settle on a home page.
Yeah, that’s all MySpace needs to be cool again.
I don’t expect this to really go anywhere, but only because it’s MySpace doing it…
If FB did it, I think it would definitely be a game changer, and probably something I’d use.
i lick this thing
this is about as newsworthy as the butterfly that’s resting on my window ledge. maybe slightly less newsworthy.
Either way, thanks for reporting the news about your butterflies.
Feel free to issue a touché
What is happening with butterfly? Any updates?
put a webcam on it.
I agree, since there hasn’t even been an official announcement. This is all just speculation.
I’m no expert, but we’re not even in butterfly season yet. Unless it’s different where you’re at. (;
WAKE UP PEOPLE! That single butterfly could quite easily flap its wings triggering some kind of “effect” that could eventually have GLOBAL consequences!
I guess they see it as a means to expand the revenues based on their user base. For a lot of pop culture fans it will be cool to be on the same E-mail domain as their idols etc. Having them spend more time on MySpace pages – even within their E-mail system – will increase their revenue and will also possible help increase loyalty of existing users.
Nothing I get excited about for myself but I can see it working for MySpace as an expansion strategy.
Hmn, I didn’t think of it that way. Great points!
this is not smart in my opinion.
umakeitcool.com
maybe they’re just receiving a lot of spam on their domain and need a separate domain to carry on their corp mail activities. legit business emails could be bouncing or held up if they’re on black lists.
Just what we need..another web mail … isn’t there enough of this crap out there already?
This could be big for the younger generations and email communication. I don’t see this for professional use, and neither should you.
WRONG. Even the kids are realizing what a failure MySpace is. Only the poor white trash kids keep a MySpace account while the smart educated ones go to Facebook.
this should have happened 5 years ago. why would anyone want a myspace email address? it would be like having an aol account back then
Agreed!
Why everyone wants to have an email service?
Yes, why would ANYONE want this? There’s only 130 million monthly users of MySpace!
It’s absurd how myopic and just plain ignorant these comments are (which is true of almost any story about Myspace on TechCrunch).
FACT: MySpace is one of the biggest websites in the world.
Just because you aren’t using MySpace doesn’t mean millions of people aren’t.
SIMPLE POINT: Your Myspace bashing only displays your own ignorance about business, culture, and the world at large.
dude chill out..myspace is practically non existent in every country except the us. They are headed down the same path as friendster. Not to say things won’t change, as myspace music is very promising. But playing catch up on every single feature, then putting ads all over it, is not a very promising strategy.
we all have some email accounts now, another email account is not so essential for us!
Have you guys used their PM system? ‘It works’ is the politest thing I can find to say about it. Let’s hope they’ve learned a few things about UIs since then…
I had no idea that FOX owned MySpace, but now all of those fancy ads make sense. (:
I don’t think this necessarily means MySpace is going to launch free email. It might just be that they are moving their corporate email addresses to a new site because of the staff changes.
They also may be trying to broadcast a more corporate image; jonsmith@myspace-inc.com sounds a lot more professional than jonsmith@myspace.com.
Besides that, why would people use MySpace email? I am a MySpace user but I see no reason to sign up for another email account outside of their internal messaging system. I have enough email addresses! (;
@privatemessaging:
Did you mean that Twitter lacks private messaging, or organized private messaging? Their DM feature is private messaging. (:
I wonder if these guys are behind it at all.
Good luck trying to compete with Gmail.