What Social Media Trend is Keeping Myspace Alive?

It’s no secret that Myspace is no longer the leading site in social networking. In fact, it’s likely the last site you would consider when naming social media platforms. But there is one online trend, however, that is helping keep the social networking site alive and, ironically, it’s one you post on other platforms- Throwback Thursday. Yes, Myspace users are logging in to find their weekly #TBTs.

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Myspace analytics show that there is an increase in visitors to the site on Thursdays as users search their profiles looking for old photos from the mid-2000s. According to Tim Vanderhook, CEO of Viant, Inc., the parent company of Specific Media which owns Myspace, the site is bringing 50.6 million unique visitors each month. Not bad for a site that was launched 12 years ago and peaked in 2008.

“Myspace was an early photo-sharing platform,” said Vanderhook. “So we still see a lot of people coming back to access old photos. They may not visit every day but they come back once a week or once a month.”

Fortunately, Myspace is not completely reliant on the public’s need for Throwback Thursday Instagram posts. In 2012 it decided to rebrand itself, with the help of Justin Timberlake, as a platform for new music sharing and discovery. Now, the site mainly attracts the 17-25 year-old segment who is interested in the site’s music sharing and discovery function. In an effort to keep up with even developing trends and technology, they also released a free Myspace app. The app includes an ad-supported radio service similar to Pandora or Spotify as well as a GIF creator.

The wavering popularity of social networking sites comes with the territory of being an online medium. Although Myspace has likely seen their peak, it is clear they are making a strong effort to evolve along with social media trends, and benefiting from them.

The Social Media High School Yearbook

For most college students, high school seems like it was just yesterday. We all remember the cliques that made up the student body like the nerds, the athletes and the band geeks. Each group had their own interests and similar personalities that set them apart from the rest.

In the dawn of the social media age, I guess you could say that social media sites are the high school of the Internet.

Wix, a popular web desgin company, took a look at social networks and found out which site fit each cliche high school stereotype. Based on what we all are sharing, Wix developed this inforgraphic comparing each social network to a high school stereotype.

For example, YouTube is the drama enthusiast. Twitter is the Chatty Cathy. Instagram, naturally, is the flirt of the bunch.

Check out the rest of the social media yearbook to see where you fit in:

Can you think of any other social media stereotypes? Let us know!

Wait…What’s MySpace again?

Hearing that Justin Timberlake is going to revamp the social networking site MySpace will either excite you or confuse you. I was one of those people who never had a MySpace, so hearing that it was bought and going to be rebranded did not interest me in the least, at least I didn’t think so. 

As PR students, when we read these stories it is important to look at them from many different angles and try to dissect all the little details in the story. Although I had no connection to MySpace, I had a connection to the word “brand” or in this case “rebrand”. 

Rebranding is great way to introduce and reintroduce yourself to the public. Newer audiences are attracted to products every day, but they don’t want something old and dated, they want the latest and greatest. This is just what Justin Timberlake is doing with MySpace. MySpace instead of having vertical scrolling will have horizontal scrolling. Music will also become a highlight as well. Playlists and featured music will be apart of the standard page. This new site will be a complete combination of Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Pintrest all in one. 

It has been years since people have been on MySpace and it seems many have forgotten about the social site. This rebranding will help add a new edge to the once very popular social media source. All products should take notes from Justin Timberlake’s handbook. He took a risk by buying this product but he knows what people are interested in. Adding a more youthful feel to the site will be sure to increase its number of members. 

There are certain products where it is acceptable to leave things as they are, but social media is not one of them. Social media outlets are forever changing and people need to keep up with the times and change the product to fit the people. 

This guest blog post was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Alison Curran