Myspace probably feels like Lord Eddard Stark… it was closest to the top as anyone could be, almost sitting on the social networking throne and ruling the seven kingdoms of the web… only to be beheaded by an ugly incestuous new young king like Joffrey Baratheon. Yeah, Facebook is the ugly new king in this analogy.
However, unlike forever decapitated Ned, Myspace continue to try out new heads but maybe that’s just because it isn’t really an organic living like the Lord of Winterfell. I suppose I should stop with all that Game Of Thrones allegory, but I just want to add that it seems Justin Timberlake truly covets the Hand of the King position. (Sorry, I had to.)
For about the four million time, Myspace is taking another shot with a complete different design and interface, the new new new new new new {new} Myspace. The once-mighty social network has opened up a new page on new.myspace.com where users can register their email to receive an invite to the revamped service when it will relaunch. The page also links to the following video:
The new Myspace, rebranded with “This is Myspace” tagline, actually strikes as quite attractive and interactive. It has a built-in player which allows to watch videos or listen to music while browsing through the network and the design appears incredibly appealing and friendly, deja vu style. It is shockingly captivating just as another social media service, Pinterest…
Although the astounding resemblance to Pinterest is definitely not coincidental, it looks pretty awesome. Why reinvent the wheel if you can just create better wheels, right? Apple has been doing this copy-paste-improve method for years and it is the biggest company in the world. But that’s not to suggest that Myspace will follow Apple footsteps into technological glory.
The social media arena is already super-packed and trying to squeeze into it (again) as one of the major players is on the verge of unattainable. Even as an entertainment-niche social network, I think that people will get pretty overwhelmed with the possibility of dealing with another social network on a regular basis.
Another core issue that isn’t mentioned at all on the video is mobile. Everything today is shifting towards mobile, especially in the social media industry. Mark Zuckerberg stressed how essential is a solid mobile strategy just couple of weeks ago. It doesn’t appear Myspace has any convincing mobile plans and that is certainly disturbing.
In spite of the many doubts I have, if Myspace will offer something really exceptional (beyond what we can impress now) it still has a fighting chance for the long run. It has a pretty strong base of nearly 30 million monthly visitors (according to comScore) which can swiftly spread the word if indeed the new service will somehow turn out to be something spectacular.
Beautiful design is just a part of a widely adopted social network so Myspace should also offer additional great features to get back on the horse. Eventually, everyone knows that the real star in Westeros is the Imp.