8 ms·

Hell Freezes Over As MySpace Fully Surrenders To Facebook

64 points by davidedicillo 16y ago

cryptoz 16y ago
Hell is usually frozen over. In fact, it's -7 there right now. http://www.yr.no/place/Norway/Nord-Tr%C3%B8ndelag/Stj%C3%B8rdal/Hell/ http://www.yr.no/place/Norway/Nord-Tr%C3%B8ndelag/Stj%C3%B8r...
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
- qcassidy 16y ago
  Actually, hell really is frozen over, at least at its core: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inferno_(Dante)#Ninth_Circle_.28Treachery.29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inferno_(Dante)#Ninth_Circle_.2...
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
  - seldo 16y ago
    But everyone knows hell is exothermic: http://www.pinetree.net/humor/thermodynamics.html http://www.pinetree.net/humor/thermodynamics.html
slay2k 16y ago
This certainly made me giggle a bit, but I wouldn't define using FBConnect, pulling user data and pushing updates to be fully surrendering. Fully surrendering would be more like MySpace outsourcing the social networking to FB. In the meantime, dying as they might be, I still think they have a different vibe.
- anonymous236 16y ago
  > but I wouldn't define (..snip..) to be fully surrendering. You would if you were a drama queen of tech blogging who didn't get invited to the press conference.
osuburger 16y ago
What are the odds that anyone would ever go to Myspace looking to see Facebook statuses? Just one more nail in the coffin I guess.
- ams6110 16y ago
  OTOH doesn't it make it easier for some of the Myspace holdouts to remain there? Myspace still has a large base in some niches, e.g. musicians, from what I'm told. I don't use either service, so I really don't know or care beyond that.
mxavier 16y ago
I sometimes log into MySpace just to see how bad it still is. Their frontend developers still don't appear to care about user experience or have any design sense. They've smattered the site with ajax, rollovers, effects, etc, and as usual there's ads all over the place. Picture browsing is even more of an eyesore than it was before. As if MySpace wasn't taxing on the CPU enough already.
- wheaties 16y ago
  Their frontend developers did that? You sure? I'd say their management/marketing/sales/some idiot with more seniority than anyone else with any common sense did that. The frontend developers were simply the guys that had to code it in.
  - robryan 16y ago
    I've always felt the site was just to slow because of the amount of elements and images on a page. While the new design looks okay it really doesn't nothing to address this major problem. For someone on a sub optimal connection or using an older browser I'd imagine myspace would be a horrible experience.
- vaksel 16y ago
  I don't think it's that. I think they realize that if someone wanted the clean experience, they'd be using Facebook. So maybe the reason they are sticking around on myspace is the current version. So they don't want to eliminate their current business and are instead embracing their existing users.
vinhboy 16y ago
I can't get over how ugly their logo is. Can't. Sorry.
beagledude 16y ago
"MySpace is huge in Japan"
- stcredzero 16y ago
  "Big in Japan"? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c98qdFQF7sw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c98qdFQF7sw Warning: 80's overdose possible!
  - krakensden 16y ago
    Dear sir: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RwjpG4Xh60 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RwjpG4Xh60
qeorge 16y ago
MySpace is not what it used to be, but I still don't think its dead. Facebook has eclipsed it as the mainstream social networking site but there are still things MySpace does better. Notably, you just can't do as much with your profile on Facebook as MySpace, especially for bands. Whether that's a bug or a feature is in the eye of the beholder. As an example, compare the Snowgoons' FB and MySpace pages: http://www.facebook.com/SnowgoonsMusic http://www.facebook.com/SnowgoonsMusic http://www.myspace.com/Snowgoons http://www.myspace.com/Snowgoons The 28-year old me likes the FB page better, but a 15-year old me would have loved the MySpace page.
- brandong 16y ago
  I've oft wondered why MySpace doesn't attempt to become the standard for bands- so much so that they don't need standalone websites for their group. If they could offer all of the functionality and backend that bands set up on their actual websites they may be able to parlay their last stronghold into something with great value that also hasn't been done to great extent elsewhere. Drop the social network- focus on the millions of myspace bands. (Also, Snowgoons on HN? My worlds just collided...)
  - ctkrohn 16y ago
    I think Myspace actually HAS become the standard for such bands, at least for the music that I listen to (metal/punk/hardcore/indie/experimental). You can look up pretty much any band by Googling "band name myspace". You'll get the tour schedule, blog, link to the record label, etc. Often the Myspace pages are designed by the label itself, incorporating the artwork from their latest album. Here's a pretty good example: http://www.myspace.com/kylesa http://www.myspace.com/kylesa Myspace took over from mp3.com after it shut down in late 2003. There was some early competition (at least in underground rock) from purevolume.com, but Myspace's social features won the day. Myspace is still the standard for bands and will likely remain so for a long time -- but "social network for teens and twentysomethings who are into music" is a far cry from "social network for the entire world."
- thirdsun 16y ago
  Exactly - The whole purpose of myspace is the fact that they have every single band on the planet. Google a bandname and thanks to an agreement between google and myspace the band's myspace page will be one of the top results. It's the fastest way to check out and quickly listen to an artist you might be interested in. This is a feature that Facebook lacks and i never understood why they didn't include options to offer some kind of media showcase on artist fanpages. A simple music player would make a big difference. Today soundcloud seems to be the new myspace (just talking about myspace' music features here), a role that could have easily been filled by facebook.
mitjak 16y ago
Hang on, let me crank up the article title drama wheel. Ah snap, it's already at 11.
athst 16y ago
I like what MySpace has done recently. They have made a major change in direction, and this is agreement is simply another acknowledgement of it. "Surrender" implies that MySpace is at war with Facebook, and that is not longer the case - MySpace is now positioning itself as a separate destination that you go to in addition to Facebook, one with a much heavier media focus. I think it's the best thing they could be doing now - playing to their strengths.
- jdp23 16y ago
  agreed. they're pivoting, not surrendering.
  - Charuru 16y ago
    It's a strategic retreat right? lol. It's a surrender, they're going to another battlefield in an effort to try to save themselves, but have already given up the big money to Facebook. Facebook is the next generation human and social database, myspace is... a music discussion site?
rodericksilva 16y ago
I personally think they should focos on bands, musicians, and teenagers. Regardless of whether or not its a good move by MySpace, i think its a little low class of FB not to send their CEO. Yes we all know the almighty FB is king and the MySpace is now officially making it known that they are riding 'bitch.' It's almost like they are proving a point. I personally don't like it.
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
brc 16y ago
Just shows that the Network effect can be a massive help or a wicked enemy.
gxs 16y ago
Hm..I'm afraid that..I am in fact getting old. I try to fight it, I really do, but I'm afraid it's inevitable. Did anyone else find the use of that picture a little tasteless?
- QE2 16y ago
  Yes. TechCrunch is not exactly known for tact.
Groxx 16y ago
http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/hell.htm http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/hell.htm Relatively speaking, maybe. Or maybe not. Or both!

64 points by davidedicillo 16y ago

Hell is usually frozen over. In fact, it's -7 there right now. http://www.yr.no/place/Norway/Nord-Tr%C3%B8ndelag/Stj%C3%B8rdal/Hell/ http://www.yr.no/place/Norway/Nord-Tr%C3%B8ndelag/Stj%C3%B8r...

deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
qcassidy 16y ago
Actually, hell really is frozen over, at least at its core: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inferno_(Dante)#Ninth_Circle_.28Treachery.29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inferno_(Dante)#Ninth_Circle_.2...
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
- seldo 16y ago
  But everyone knows hell is exothermic: http://www.pinetree.net/humor/thermodynamics.html http://www.pinetree.net/humor/thermodynamics.html

slay2k 16y ago

This certainly made me giggle a bit, but I wouldn't define using FBConnect, pulling user data and pushing updates to be fully surrendering. Fully surrendering would be more like MySpace outsourcing the social networking to FB. In the meantime, dying as they might be, I still think they have a different vibe.

anonymous236 16y ago
> but I wouldn't define (..snip..) to be fully surrendering. You would if you were a drama queen of tech blogging who didn't get invited to the press conference.

osuburger 16y ago

What are the odds that anyone would ever go to Myspace looking to see Facebook statuses? Just one more nail in the coffin I guess.

ams6110 16y ago
OTOH doesn't it make it easier for some of the Myspace holdouts to remain there? Myspace still has a large base in some niches, e.g. musicians, from what I'm told. I don't use either service, so I really don't know or care beyond that.

mxavier 16y ago

I sometimes log into MySpace just to see how bad it still is. Their frontend developers still don't appear to care about user experience or have any design sense. They've smattered the site with ajax, rollovers, effects, etc, and as usual there's ads all over the place. Picture browsing is even more of an eyesore than it was before. As if MySpace wasn't taxing on the CPU enough already.

wheaties 16y ago
Their frontend developers did that? You sure? I'd say their management/marketing/sales/some idiot with more seniority than anyone else with any common sense did that. The frontend developers were simply the guys that had to code it in.
- robryan 16y ago
  I've always felt the site was just to slow because of the amount of elements and images on a page. While the new design looks okay it really doesn't nothing to address this major problem. For someone on a sub optimal connection or using an older browser I'd imagine myspace would be a horrible experience.
vaksel 16y ago
I don't think it's that. I think they realize that if someone wanted the clean experience, they'd be using Facebook. So maybe the reason they are sticking around on myspace is the current version. So they don't want to eliminate their current business and are instead embracing their existing users.

vinhboy 16y ago

I can't get over how ugly their logo is. Can't. Sorry.

beagledude 16y ago

"MySpace is huge in Japan"

stcredzero 16y ago
"Big in Japan"? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c98qdFQF7sw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c98qdFQF7sw Warning: 80's overdose possible!
- krakensden 16y ago
  Dear sir: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RwjpG4Xh60 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RwjpG4Xh60

qeorge 16y ago

MySpace is not what it used to be, but I still don't think its dead. Facebook has eclipsed it as the mainstream social networking site but there are still things MySpace does better. Notably, you just can't do as much with your profile on Facebook as MySpace, especially for bands. Whether that's a bug or a feature is in the eye of the beholder. As an example, compare the Snowgoons' FB and MySpace pages: http://www.facebook.com/SnowgoonsMusic http://www.facebook.com/SnowgoonsMusic http://www.myspace.com/Snowgoons http://www.myspace.com/Snowgoons The 28-year old me likes the FB page better, but a 15-year old me would have loved the MySpace page.

brandong 16y ago
I've oft wondered why MySpace doesn't attempt to become the standard for bands- so much so that they don't need standalone websites for their group. If they could offer all of the functionality and backend that bands set up on their actual websites they may be able to parlay their last stronghold into something with great value that also hasn't been done to great extent elsewhere. Drop the social network- focus on the millions of myspace bands. (Also, Snowgoons on HN? My worlds just collided...)
- ctkrohn 16y ago
  I think Myspace actually HAS become the standard for such bands, at least for the music that I listen to (metal/punk/hardcore/indie/experimental). You can look up pretty much any band by Googling "band name myspace". You'll get the tour schedule, blog, link to the record label, etc. Often the Myspace pages are designed by the label itself, incorporating the artwork from their latest album. Here's a pretty good example: http://www.myspace.com/kylesa http://www.myspace.com/kylesa Myspace took over from mp3.com after it shut down in late 2003. There was some early competition (at least in underground rock) from purevolume.com, but Myspace's social features won the day. Myspace is still the standard for bands and will likely remain so for a long time -- but "social network for teens and twentysomethings who are into music" is a far cry from "social network for the entire world."
thirdsun 16y ago
Exactly - The whole purpose of myspace is the fact that they have every single band on the planet. Google a bandname and thanks to an agreement between google and myspace the band's myspace page will be one of the top results. It's the fastest way to check out and quickly listen to an artist you might be interested in. This is a feature that Facebook lacks and i never understood why they didn't include options to offer some kind of media showcase on artist fanpages. A simple music player would make a big difference. Today soundcloud seems to be the new myspace (just talking about myspace' music features here), a role that could have easily been filled by facebook.

mitjak 16y ago

Hang on, let me crank up the article title drama wheel. Ah snap, it's already at 11.

athst 16y ago

I like what MySpace has done recently. They have made a major change in direction, and this is agreement is simply another acknowledgement of it. "Surrender" implies that MySpace is at war with Facebook, and that is not longer the case - MySpace is now positioning itself as a separate destination that you go to in addition to Facebook, one with a much heavier media focus. I think it's the best thing they could be doing now - playing to their strengths.

jdp23 16y ago
agreed. they're pivoting, not surrendering.
- Charuru 16y ago
  It's a strategic retreat right? lol. It's a surrender, they're going to another battlefield in an effort to try to save themselves, but have already given up the big money to Facebook. Facebook is the next generation human and social database, myspace is... a music discussion site?

rodericksilva 16y ago

I personally think they should focos on bands, musicians, and teenagers. Regardless of whether or not its a good move by MySpace, i think its a little low class of FB not to send their CEO. Yes we all know the almighty FB is king and the MySpace is now officially making it known that they are riding 'bitch.' It's almost like they are proving a point. I personally don't like it.

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]

brc 16y ago

Just shows that the Network effect can be a massive help or a wicked enemy.

gxs 16y ago

Hm..I'm afraid that..I am in fact getting old. I try to fight it, I really do, but I'm afraid it's inevitable. Did anyone else find the use of that picture a little tasteless?

QE2 16y ago
Yes. TechCrunch is not exactly known for tact.

Groxx 16y ago

http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/hell.htm http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/hell.htm Relatively speaking, maybe. Or maybe not. Or both!