14 DAY TRIAL // Myspace may be the target of a lot of jokes these days, but it still commands a rather large audience and is one of the largest sites in the world and the US in particular. Today, it's starting to roll out a redesign which signals the start of a completely new focus for the site.
The new Myspace is a complete overhaul, not only of the interface but also of the product and even the branding. The site's name is no longer written MySpace but Myspace and it's getting a new logo which was previewed a while back.
The site itself will focus on the younger demographic, 13 to 35 years old, and is no longer a social network but rather a social entertainment hub.
What it means is that Myspace wants to become a place where people share, discover and consume the things they care about, be it music, movies, celebrities, games, TV and so on.
“This marks the beginning of an exciting turning point for Myspace. Our new strategy expands on Myspace’s existing strengths – a deep understanding of social, a wealth of entertainment content and the ability to surface emerging cultural trends in real time through our users,” Mike Jones, CEO of Myspace, said.
“Myspace is unique in that it is powered by the passions of our users, who program the site by expressing interests, sharing tastes and knowledge around particular topics, and scouting out up-and-coming subcultures. This is the just the first step and there will be many more features, programs and improvements to come,” he added.
Of course, there are plenty of sites to share your likes and plenty to connect with people with similar interests, but Myspace has several advantages. On the one hand, it already has a large audience so if the product is solid it will be significantly easier for it to get people to visit.
On the other, it also has a rather deep partnership with media companies and a lot of content, music, video, already available.
The re-focus is a risky bet from the company, but it's probably the only thing it could have done to stop the slow decay of the site. The redesigned site will go live for everyone over the course of next month and is already available in some areas.