MySpace: The pioneer of social networking
In 2003, MySpace made a significant change in history by introducing itself to the world. The worldwide change added a whole new aspect towards a social media platform. It took social networking to a new level above the Friendster (popular at the time). Friendster was a startup to social networking, but they encountered a few barriers and limitations to their website. MySpace was a platform where people could connect to anyone and everyone with no boundaries. In the early 2000’s, it was a big ordeal to be able to actually have your own website talking about yourself for all to see. It also gave the ability to communicate and connect with millions of other users all over the globe. This allowed individuals to post information about themselves in a variety of ways such as post pictures, add your favorite layouts, and upload music for everyone to view.
MySpace made a fun competitive way to where people can see how many friends you have compared to others. The company was first to display a friend counter which supposedly showed how “popular” you were. Everyone’s first friend was “Myspace Tom”, whose has one of the top recognized profile picture. MySpace made it where you would rank your top 8 friends and expose to the public where they stand on your social ladder.
Another advantage MySpace had among other social networking platforms was the website layout option for users. The default included a white page, a few boxes with colors, but “coding” was introduced to those who wanted to spice up their page to fit their style. People found out that coding was the key to change layouts and there were even websites that offered templates for people to copy and paste codes. At first, Myspace was against the idea of changing layouts and coding, but when users expressed their liking of colorful, personal layouts, MySpace later embraced it. MySpace added a new feature like no other which was adding songs to your page. Unlike Friendster, MySpace allowed you to have a MySpace page and can do as they please.
MySpace paved the way for online celebrities like model Tila Tequila, singer Lily Allen, and comedian Dane Cook. It was also a great way to connect to celebrities and bands, which was unheard of at the time. This platform helped comedians and bands showcase their work and talent whether it be videos, albums, or tour dates.
Overall, Myspace was a company that was significant in history because it pioneered the way websites and social media are used in today’s world. It brought the Web 2.0 experience to what it is today as well. MySpace started the wave for people to say what they wanted to say, showcase themselves to their peers on a platform that was reliable, safe, popular, and the connection it brings to one another. The competitive numbers reveal, it was once valued at 12 billion dollars and was the number one site visited in 2006. Before posting on Facebook about your family’s vacation, before seeing how many people liked your Instagram post of your meal, and before Twitter feuds existed online, there was MySpace. MySpace was not only social networking, but THE social network at one time.
Sources:
https://www.360logica.com/blog/challenges-associated-with-web-2-0-applications
