From the “rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic file”: The new MySpace exec team has promised changes (”we have…laid the groundwork for an exciting new chapter of innovation for MySpace”). And they’re delivering. A couple of hours ago they changed the MySpace logo. No longer does it say “MySpace.com – A Place For Friends.” Now it simply says MySpace. The old logo is below.
We’ve confirmed that the change just occurred this evening, although MySpace PR is as usual not responding. They refuse to confirm that the logo is new, or say why they changed it. It sure is absurd to have a conversation that goes something like “So it looks like you’ve changed your logo this evening? No Comment. Uh huh. Ok, so any official reason why you changed it? No comment.” Trade secrets, I guess. And heck, I’m just happy someone still works there to pick up the phone.
MySpace is also on the warpath to get more users. At login they now strongly suggest you log into your email and invite friends (hopefully they’ll avoid turning this too spammy). And they’ve also added the “people you may know” feature as a widget to all logged in profile pages.
We’re also hearing that MySpace will be removing some of the ugliest ad units that adorn the site today. Whether that’s an effort to clean up the user interface or simply a sign of slowing ad sales, we’ll probably never know.
The title of this article is ironic, because not that many people are really using Myspace anymore. It’s mostly just a cesspool for scene queens and pedophiles.
more ajax pls.
They don’t need more AJAX, they need more people! They are starting-off in the wrong way as well, letting a bunch of people go isn’t how a war is waged, they need every head they can muster if they think they can fight against Facebook.
Jon
Myspace was done over a year ago. Now we just sit back and watch them fade.
I second that.
The initial UI design is what kept me away from this fake-people infested melting pot of “opps you need to relogin” nonsense. I wonder how much longer Fox will want to ingest money into this useless idea… I am actually surprised they managed to stay afloat till 2009.
what are you talking about? MySpace maybe trending down, but people are still using it allot.
while it is true that MySpace is known for the highschool set mentality (and profile pages that can literally crash your browser due to all the stuff people were putting on them), I think there are many places where it is not a “cesspool”.
MySpace may be down, but its not out, and its not evil either. I think most of us don’t get it because we are techies (and is probably why most comments for it on here will be negative) but MySpace isn’t really for techies.
Well, the reason they’re trending down is because they’re not doing anything cool any more. There efforts now seem to be all about avoiding the inevitable. Unfortunately, they have a massive uphill battle it’s unlikely they’ll recover from and will continue the downward trend.
apparently its not a place for friends anymore either. maybe its a place for friendster and bebo defectors
…or people who just don’t get the Twitter/Facebook juggernaut.
Even the non-techies prefer Facebook, not just us. Hence the downsizing.
Facebook is almost as smug as Apple. I would like to see Myspace kick their butt.
Now all they have to do is replace this logo with one that’s actually well-designed.
“a place for friends” is a slogan or motto. the logo is the 3 characters.
I’m willing to bet the logo is worth a lot more than anything you’ve ever designed.
but it’s mycesspool
So MySpace is still around … huh.
I’m not sure whether this post is abject in tone, disinterested, detached, or slightly disdainful. Anyways, I found it quite funny. Perhaps there’ll be another logo tomorrow and then MySpace will split-test media reaction, and eventually show us the winner.
BFD, that’s all u got, a logo change? wow, big changes…not
The people you know widget is there for over a year. I believe you forgot to see it after you became a myspace basher !
i believe it is new.
I dunno…I think it’s been there for awhile. Most social networking sites have had these “invite your friends” things show up after you join for quite awhile.
The missing tagline logo is definitely new though!
Been around for several months.
myspace employee said it was new, all excited that this was going to change everything. who knows.
It launched around the same time as MySpace Music.
Need a new leak source. What with the massive layoffs? Lost some good double agents in the mix I bet.
Time for TC to do some new recruiting within its fav bashing target.
Been there for months.
there’s this http://forums.m...rums.viewthread but i don’t believe it was a widget before automatically added to profile pages.
Employees were excited about REMOVING a tagline?
Uggghhh…
Well, I suppose all the smart workers have left (or been fired) by this point so that may actually be accurate!
they have hired an Indian company to redesign the entire UI….
You just cannot admit when you are wrong.
It’s been there for months. I know. I help build it
People you may know is way old…has been there for months…Mike you never admit your mistakes !!
Ditto, this ‘widget’ has been around for a while. Try and actually visit the site once in while, that way you won’t look foolish when you bash it (and yes, there’s plenty of reasons for bashing it)
the “people you may know” is not new, nor is the logo… ! it’s been used in various places around the site and in other myspace material for over a year (including crunchbase, doh!). this post is obviously just an attempt to throw in some weekly myspace bashing.
since there wasn’t any actual news, might as well make some up.
Ahh yes. The old logo bait and switch. That should keep the board happy for about 5 minutes. Will the last person who leaves MySpace please remember to turn off the lights?
They really need to make profile page design a priority. Users have too much control over what they can display and too little guidance. I mean have you ever seen more unusable pages than on MySpace? Unless your a designer or hire one your page is going to be a mess.
That control over the pages is what made them using Myspace (or defect from Friendster – Friendster forbid them to do that).
…less headache, I guess 
…
BUt I guess that after experimenting with the freedom everyone wants to be controlled again
I like Facebook though, more than Myspace
…
Their logo should read… “a place to type in a captcha”.
ROFL… good one
Myspace is the only site I know that do this.
http://blogs.my...logId=480984292
So its really not a place to type in a captcha.
MySpace removed the tagline most likely for branding purposes. As ‘A place for friends’ suggests MySpace is only for meeting friends which was what it was originally focusing on, however now MySpace is comprised of their own umbrella services like Video and Music.
Either that, or it was a design decision. If you notice, they placed the new logo equally aligned in the centre and aligned it equally opposite the text on the right. Having done that gives the overall visual appearance a stronger and clearer look.
I personally stopped using MySpace awhile ago, I prefer Virb 2.0
Good move in the right direction
yep. those deck chairs are nice and tidy now.
adopting the “password antipattern” is never a good move.
http://microfor...k-anti-patterns
To be fair, *many* social sites are very anxious to harvest potential connections from your email contacts. This is hardly anything new or nefarious.
That being said:
* My twenty-something kids/nieces/nephews
are all on Facebook, as are a *lot* of other
folks I care about being in contact with.
* So are lots of other folks I like to stay in
.
e-contact with (when you’re fifty something,
alas, most of these kinds of people are
younger than I am
* So are my seventy-something parents
.
But that is probably cause-and-effect.
* My professional-related contacts tend to
be on LinkedIn.
So I should become involved in MySpace because … ?
Is it telling, or just a coincidence, that the “Commenting Options” block to the right of this “Leave Comment” block lets you sign in with your Facebook account, but none of the other social sites?
I guess they finally realized that they need to do Something to compete with Facebook.
i think the new logo should be: MySpace, a place for nothing
LOL!!
Well personally I am looking forward to any improvements that MySpace is planning on doing. I always thought MySpace was more than just a place to meet other entertainers and stay in contact with friends.
Personally I wish that some of these blog/social services would turn some of what they do into something that Ning has done and allow websites to be hosted on the service. Even though its gone now, I will never forget how well done Modblog.com was and how Efx2.com works to really create a interactive social environment on which a whole website can be hosted on top of.
Ning leads this but it isn’t really a blog service. Facebook has interactions, but its not a real blog. Wordpress.com is a blog, but interactivity is limited. Blogger had some level of interactivity on the main page before Google bought them out. Personal vanity url’s are allowed but not url’s redirection that are purchased.
I think if MySpace is to grow again, it needs to be more than a personal profile online with a blog. It needs to become a service for small to large businesses (as well as individuals) to host their website on, forums, blog and so forth.
When they start treating their site as more of a knowledge base to be used rather than a place to advertise stuff, I think they will be able to turn it around.
I forgot to mention Joeuser.com of which is a blogging service that has plenty of interaction between each user and blog, but the blog itself can not have a personal URL
Each service seems to not have something, but why not have a service that can allow you to have it all, if that is what you want?
What about universities having their own MySpace page that actually looks like their website, but MySpace users who belong to the campus can easily link up to the school and its activities? Why can’t a business open up a knowledge base blog using MySpace technology in order to keep information about jobs and other such details in an organized fashion?
Why is MySpace not CSS standard?
Why can’t my blog be the front page?
I can go on and on… its my hope that MySpace is trying to do this right now.
The rise and seeming decline of MySpace in just six years is proof that valuations of Web 2.0 companies should not be taken seriously. Many of them are proving to be more like trendy clubs than viable long-term businesses. We’re truly into the Age of Disruption here, and no institution in any industry should consider itself safe from being rendered obsolete. Who knows, in a few days, California may be bankrupt.
MySpace sucks. Bulky, and loads slow. I barely even check my old MySpace account… only once or twice a month.
“people you may know” has been around for several months… at least 4-5 AT LEAST.
I forgot about myspace, this article made me go in and update my myspace profile to now say “I no longer use Myspace, if you are interested in following my updates or family photos, get a facebook account”
If you had asked your questions differently, been less confrontational, been more charming, you might have been told more. What do you think? Would you agree that when PRs answer direct questions freely it is PR, they want you to write what they are telling you, when you find out things companies do not want you to know that’s journalism?
The problem is that myspace has always been focused at the younger generation, with the customised profiles that ended up filled with “glitter graphics” and events organised for young people. Young people are fickle, we love to change to the “new in thing”, so when facebook became all the rage the majority of us hopped over there and now use it primarily over myspace. Facebook has the advantage of being aimed at *everyone*, so whether you’re 12 or 80 it’s still user friendly. I always found myspace had too much information on the homepage that wasn’t structured well enough. I still use myspace but I’ve pretty much switched my main usage – which is still very little – over to facebook.
yeah, i have to agree with you there. It’s kinda like bebo, which has a set design (although you can customize it abit) Facebook is just so simple to use, unlike myspace where you have to sift through loads of settings and pages just to find 1 setting.
Myspace also has a bit much going on i think, all the different sections they have.
MySpace probably needs to work with an email plug-in like SenderOK to get into the email header pane. Otherwise, many won’t bother logging onto the web to see if the person who just wrote to them has a profile there.
Ahem, slight vendetta against MySpace due to ‘no comment’ policy? Don’t get me wrong, I think that is quite unnecessary, but this article seems negative against the brand, of which I have used in both a personal and work capacity since ‘04.
Over this time, some of the more dramatic changes and improvements have been over the past 12 months or so and I personally feel like they are getting back on track to a certain degreee, but let’s see if this game of catch up for them can be won.
The change is subtle. Wonder why they did that.
MySpace never appealed to me. Now that it is not about friends I will have to reconsider and give them access to all my email addresses
Who wants to be my friend?
What did MySpace do to incur the wrath of TechCrunch? It wasn’t a year ago that Michael was stroking the Future of Music. Now it seems that TC is going out of their way to slag them off no matter how irrelevant the point is.
If there’s a legitimate gripe about a poor product (Music was a mediocre and disappointing launch), then let them have it. But MySpace is trying to do a dramatic 180 – not the easiest thing to do. This article, as well as the last few sound vindictive, petty and like a school-yard bully kicking someone as they’re trying to pick themselves up.
I’m starting to get very turned off by TC’s constant editorializing. Is this the “Future of Journalism”?
“Future of Journalism” only if you call the tech crunch blogging group journalists…
Amen to this.
My spidey senses tell me that Michael Arrington’s love affair has either gone south, or been laid off. One of the two.
Exactly… Facebook paing you off TechCrunch? DISGUSTING COVERAGE OF MYSPACE:
http://www.popt...p/archives/4438
I’m a big fan of myspace!!
I like it way more then facebook.
yes there something i feel they need to change or fix
but i feel myspace if more so a true social networking website then facebook
MYSPACE RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The only decent thing about myspace, is myspace music. Yes facebook does have it’s own version. But myspace’s version is a lot more better. Imagine if all your favourite bands didn’t use myspace, i bet it would be in a really bad shape.
Myspace is like that old mall, with abandoned stores and a dirty payless.
hahahahaa Ouch, “HIYO” http://www.yout...h?v=Ji-cT58rgNc
MySpace is completely dead. I don’t understand how they are getting brands like McDonalds to invest millions in half baked integrated marketing schemes that result in a few hundred “friends”. I even have some doubts about Facebook as a marketing vehicle, but MySpace is just out of the realm of consideration.
Disagree. While I think MySpace has a lot of issues that need to be addressed, at the end of the day they are a great reach vehicle, if that’s one of your objectives. When we hold MySpace up to the same basic metrics as *almost* every other site, they still perform well as part of an overall mix of sites which includes Facebook. Should be noted that we aren’t trying to fulfill the same objectives on MySpace as we are on Facebook or other sites…and friend count? that is one of the LAST things we use to measure success…
You don’t understand, because you clearly understand nothing about advertising. MySpace has a monthly comscore in the US of 70 million users. So what you call “dead” is used by nearly 1/4th of the US population that’s old enough to “compute.” Pull your head out of your floppy drive…
What is MySpace? I know that this sounds dumb, but really, what is it?
Interesting how 2 of Michael’s “Friends You May Know” are either current or former MySpace employees.
I don’t believe all the nonsense surrounding the possibility that MySpace is dying.
Facebook, in all honesty, isn’t that great a social network.
It’s full of spam, and quizzes and other tosh that you don’t want to be seeing.
On the other hand it does do quite a good job with keeping you in touch with relatives.
I noticed that although they’ve changed the logo, the browser title still says Myspace | a place for friends. I wonder what they are planing to do now that it is not advertising the service as “a place for friends.” I really hope Myspace is takeing the approach to cleaning up their ad infested pages though. I think that will be a huge step in increasing their popularity and users. I will be speaking about this today on the daily bit episode of TechNest Report podcast: http://bit.ly/14Dj0X tune in to the live show at 5:30
I thought myspace was bought for 700 mill? was only 580?
I often wonder why tech crunch hates myspace so badly
because they are in bed with Facebook.
This says it all. Look next to where you add your comments
Commenting Options
Enter your personal information to the left, or sign in with your Facebook account by clicking the button below.
Connect
MySpace is for bands and artists. That has become their niche. The problem is there are too many bands and artists self promoting, and that becomes numbing to all the possible consumers who then move to Facebook. Now all these bands and artists are promoting to other self promoting artists who could careless about anyone but themselves.
No longer a place for friends, or competent employees. Rather a place for a third round of replacing bloated upper management with an inexperienced bloated upper management and no real long term ideas. They also dumped their events team and half of their tech team. Anyone ever attend a MySpace secret show? How about the must attend MySpace party at Sundance? How will they run events without a team? The death of MySpace is killing me, because I really like using MySpace to communicate with some of my favorite musicians and artists.
Oh and MySpace search? Waste of bandwidth!
What do you mean?
Search is one of the good functionality in MySpace. The UI sucks though.
Thanks MySpace. Making it much easier for my proposed SN to be coolest, most relevant ever imagined. Stay tuned.
I think that yes the original facebook design was amazingly clean and attractive, the new re-designs and all the apps,games, quizzes, etc, etc are clutter. The wall updates and what not are what make Facebook amazing being able to track all your friends was great. Now I see what they wrote plus what theyre doing in about fifty million different games, quizzes. Its devolving into a myspace with less creativity but more clutter.
haha, myspace karaoke still has the old logo http://ksolo.myspace.com/
The name ‘MySpace’ has a lot more potential than just a place for friends. I hope they are thinking about adding features along the line of friendfeed where a user can bring in feeds from their twitter, amazon wishlist, gdgt list etc… This would really turn it into your space, where everything you want to share about yourself would be available. Great for users and advertisers too.
Personally, myspace just doesn’t do it for me anymore. Unfortunately I doubt a simple logo change is going to drive the more users they seek. It does seem odd that they won’t comment at all about a simple logo change. They seem to be falling by the wayside in terms of users that are not high school students. These days its all about the new “cool” thing. Who knows, maybe this new logo will make them cool again, haha. Then again, they are getting people to talk about it, TechCrunch and these comments being case in point.
I think the Titanic analogy is apt. What’s even better is that all the bands are still playing!
Last year we launched a “New Strategy” for Microsoft. It secured feedback from actual MSFT employees. It gained support from MSFT employees, reporters and analysts.
The “New Strategy” was interviewed by various blogs. It also obtained a interview for PC Plus magazine.
Initially, MSFT was analyzed and a strategy was created. Over the course of a couple of months it secured feedback and comments from MSFT employees and consumers. The “New Strategy” was edited and revised. It ultimately secured support from employees, analysts and reporters.
MySpace was initially one of the premier sites. However, similar to MSFT it failed to innovate and examine its business model. Similar to MSFT losing to Google, MySpace has lost to Facebook.
However, MySpace is owned by News Corp. It has access to numerous properties that can be leveraged and synergies created. It can utilise special offers only through MySpace. It can leverage Fox movies, tv, through MySpace.
We are seeking to secure feedback from employees and users on how to improve MySpace.
We can be contacted at thecrandreagroup@hotmail.com
The title tag still says “a place for friends”
it may have bigger implications than just a logo change.. i be they are paving a way of becoming more targeted rather than the current “blanket” model
Fox owns MySpace. Fox bad. Now MySpace bad. Too simple?