how facebook beat myspace
A fairly conclusive Hitwise chart revealing the visit fortunes of Facebook and Myspace over time – from an interesting article on Read, Write, Web on How Facebook beat Myspace: From College Dorm to Platform
social aggregation portals
I blogged last Jan about developments at myspace to turn the site into a kind off aggregation portal, through which you could access the rest of the web and in particular your social web.
Whilst I don’t think that has come to fruition yet on MySpace, yesterday I saw the new designs for bebo - due to be rolled out in the next few weeks – that incorporates just that. Access to all your social profiles (flickr, twitter, del.icio.us, even facebook! etc.) through an aggregated update wall, within the bebo frame.
The idea of one login and feed aggregation isn’t new but seems a lot more compelling from a social network. It also seems like pretty smart thinking from bebo. bebo’ers are probably more likely than most to migrate to other platforms as they get older and if they can do this but stay within the bebo world, then bebo not only keep audience but steal advertising away from their competitors when users are also signed up elsewhere.
Think this could mark a new turn in the battle for your entry to the web and the advertising £’s that surround it.
a rekindled love
after attending a q and a session with myspace co-founder chris dewolfe i’ve dived back onto and into myspace.
some of the future developments discussed in the q and a were around allowing users to have different profile displays based on how you categorize your friends and myspace becoming a hub aggregator and entry point to the web – combining a social network with a netvibes/igooglely type thing.
another interesting development is a product that will allow small businesses, who they identify as currently being underserved online beyond google and directories, to independently create their own ads and buy space that is ‘hypertargeted’.
the roll out of an ajax style interface similar to pagii that allows greater creativity on your profile – the ethos at the heart of myspace – was skirted around but is currently in development and about 6 months away.
beyond all these developments i think what is happening now is really what makes, and will continue to make, myspace relevant.
myspacetv is now apparently the worlds 2nd largest video sharing site. but with 50% of videos being played via profiles this represents an interesting development in social networking and how people will integrate the content they consume with their social network identities and how that content is written, produced and lives beyond the movie clip.
i don’t really want to watch eastenders online after it has aired on tv. if i want to watch it in the first place i’ll pvr it.
i want to watch short sharp bites of content online or on my mobile, and i then want to be able to engage in the experience beyond just viewing.
actually watching a show is now only part of the entertainment. i think 2008 will see developments like quarterlife, where engaging with the community around the show becomes as entertaining as actually watching it, becoming relevant and mainstream.
beyond that i can now actually write, direct and star in this content through developments like ‘my movie mashup’ .
less - throwing a vampire at someone who I’d rather not poke anyway thank you very much. more - participating with a community around the creation of entertaining content.
i’m over facebook. i heart myspace again.
