MySpace: That Great Club Everyone Used To Go To

from the what-will-open-in-its-space? dept

With the news that MySpace is laying off a big chunk of staff and trying to refocus and start to win back some buzz from Facebook and Twitter, our own Derek Kerton made a useful observation that social networks appear to be similar to nightclubs: "Launch, get hot, go bust in 2-3 years, and then another sets up in the same place." Indeed. How quickly people forget. In the 90s, you could argue that GeoCities and SixDegrees were the "social networks" everyone used. And then there was Friendster which begat MySpace which begat Facebook which begat Twitter.

So, the question is... is this inevitable? Should we consider social networks the equivalent of a hip night club with a clear and inherent half-life of "coolness" before it certainly goes bust only to be replaced by something else? If so, what are the signs of trouble? When big media takes over? When Hollywood stars sign up? When your parents sign up? If not, what's the difference? Who can break the cycle?

27 Comments | Leave a Comment..