18.2.10

Why Did We Break Up With MySpace?


Unless you are a musician, you probably aren't maintaining a page or connecting with others like you used to on MySpace.

A spot poll of your nearest and dearest will no doubt give you the following insight: no one is using MySpace any more. In fact our own research last autumn found that about 20% of friends connected to our artists had inactive profiles - with around the same figure not having logged in for 6 months. Add in the huge volume of band profiles, and you aren't left with many punters.

But we all used to cherish our love of MySpace. So what happened to the relationship?

You Stopped Making Me Feel Special
When it started, being friends really meant something. Those early years of social networking saw us collecting friends like they were badges of honour. But then everyone wanted to be your friend, including christain metal bands from Utah and a folk singer in Croydon. Suddenly being popular wasn't so special anymore. Proof that quantity alienates and that really, all we want is to feel like a special part of a community - no matter how big our digital universe gets.

You Just Weren't Yourself Anymore
Bands started using MySpace to connect directly with fans and build audiences. But once it got too much, the labels and PR took over. Soon an intern was posting comments and answering the post. With Twitter we can usually tell it's the real person behind the tweets (note: I suspect that @iamjonsi isn't really our favourite Icelandic boy...). Twitter works on this instant gratification principle. Being genuine and investing time in the community is crucial.

You Were a Lazy Lover ...
It all felt so subversive and fresh and new. But then everyone started to do it all a bit better. And Facebook came along and did the simple things with more whizz-bang and MySpace was (and is still) left playing catchup on functionality.

... And then you slept with Murdoch
MySpace showed us we could all have our own little place on the web and connect - and even use our space to be something fabulous. Then our world was sold to the media equivalent of Darth Vader. No surprise that trust was eroded - and when the 'space started to feel more like the Death Star every day, we knew it was time to leave.

It's a shame really. We had fun.

Image on Flickr by WebRanking Pictures

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Great article about MySpace. I'm thinking about closing our artist page too.

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