4 ms·

MySpace is in the black, and has been there quite a while. People tend to forget that.

by rizzn 17y ago

unalone 17y ago
They got in the black by giving up on being the social network for the world. They toned down and focused on music, because Facebook wiped its ass socially. MySpace now is not what MySpace wanted to be three years ago. Facebook is more ambitious, more talented, and more successful than MySpace. Their goal is to make a web site that revolutionizes how the world interacts with itself, and they've been doing an astonishingly good job at it. When I deleted my presence online, I kept Facebook, because it was capable of adapting to the lifestyle I wanted to lead. Perhaps one day Facebook will meet a challenge it cannot overcome. Until then, it hasn't failed with practically everything, and it's steamrollering every would-be competitor. It has every reason to expand.
- rizzn 17y ago
  In other words, MySpace found a business model. I'd be happy if half the social networks I love could do the same, so I could quit worrying if they're doomed to shut down as soon as the VCs get bored with them.
  - unalone 17y ago
    That is an entirely nonsensical argument. MySpace and Facebook both make money off advertising. They both appeal to different sects of people, and MySpace simply gave up on spending money to compete with Facebook. Facebook, meanwhile, has no competition. None. They are free to expand as they see fit, and currently they're in the black and so can afford expansion.
    - run4yourlives 17y ago
      and currently they're in the black and so can afford expansion. Citation please. They owe a lot of people a lot of money.
    - rizzn 17y ago
      They're just barely in the black, if at all. Seems like I vaguely remember an AllThingsD report that they were might hit revenue positive briefly this year before they'd quickly blow it all on new hires. I don't know where you're getting this Facebook has no competition business. Everything on the web has competition, and Facebook is no exception.
      - unalone 17y ago
        They're just barely in the black, if at all. Seems like I vaguely remember an AllThingsD report that they were might hit revenue positive briefly this year before they'd quickly blow it all on new hires. That implies that they're making an impressive revenue. Right now, Facebook has money to burn. If they find that they can't increase revenue, they'll be able to significantly cut back and make a profit, similar to what MySpace did recently. For now, they don't need to worry about that. I don't know where you're getting this Facebook has no competition business. Everything on the web has competition, and Facebook is no exception. According to Alexa, Facebook has five times the daily reach of MySpace, which is its next-closest competitor. It's got six times the reach of Twitter, which is called its competitor even though it's not. It's fifteen times larger than the number three network, which is Hi 5. That's user interaction. Facebook also has more pictures than any other web site in existence, more than Flickr, which is the largest photo storage site in existence. Barack Obama, who may not be the largest Facebook page, has twice the followers of APlusK on Twitter, and on Facebook he has vastly more functionality than APlusK does on Twitter: he can push nearly anything at users directly from the site, no third-party needed. It's hard to track Note use and Video use since Facebook's based on privacy. However, I'd make a bet that Facebook's videos are enough to place it in the Top 10 for video sites worldwide. I don't know how I'd compare notes. Google Search has competition, because it's possible to force search engine use through products. (I've used Bing a few times in the last month because I see it when I search on Facebook.) Yahoo Mail has competition, because its service has certain aspects that are unpleasant. (Email ads, for instance.) Facebook has none. In fact, because Facebook's core service is so incredibly tight, I'd bet that Facebook could upgrade nothing for two-three years, and it would still maintain its lead over competitors, solely for the reason that it can't lose that lead unless users see something elsewhere that's so compelling it makes them switch. I can't think of anything that compelling, save perhaps mobile networking, and Facebook's already the top phone-based social network despite not yet having location-based technologies.

MySpace is in the black, and has been there quite a while. People tend to forget that.

by rizzn 17y ago

MySpace is in the black, and has been there quite a while. People tend to forget that.

They got in the black by giving up on being the social network for the world. They toned down and focused on music, because Facebook wiped its ass socially. MySpace now is not what MySpace wanted to be three years ago. Facebook is more ambitious, more talented, and more successful than MySpace. Their goal is to make a web site that revolutionizes how the world interacts with itself, and they've been doing an astonishingly good job at it. When I deleted my presence online, I kept Facebook, because it was capable of adapting to the lifestyle I wanted to lead. Perhaps one day Facebook will meet a challenge it cannot overcome. Until then, it hasn't failed with practically everything, and it's steamrollering every would-be competitor. It has every reason to expand.

rizzn 17y ago
In other words, MySpace found a business model. I'd be happy if half the social networks I love could do the same, so I could quit worrying if they're doomed to shut down as soon as the VCs get bored with them.
- unalone 17y ago
  That is an entirely nonsensical argument. MySpace and Facebook both make money off advertising. They both appeal to different sects of people, and MySpace simply gave up on spending money to compete with Facebook. Facebook, meanwhile, has no competition. None. They are free to expand as they see fit, and currently they're in the black and so can afford expansion.
  - run4yourlives 17y ago
    and currently they're in the black and so can afford expansion. Citation please. They owe a lot of people a lot of money.
  - rizzn 17y ago
    They're just barely in the black, if at all. Seems like I vaguely remember an AllThingsD report that they were might hit revenue positive briefly this year before they'd quickly blow it all on new hires. I don't know where you're getting this Facebook has no competition business. Everything on the web has competition, and Facebook is no exception.
    - unalone 17y ago
      They're just barely in the black, if at all. Seems like I vaguely remember an AllThingsD report that they were might hit revenue positive briefly this year before they'd quickly blow it all on new hires. That implies that they're making an impressive revenue. Right now, Facebook has money to burn. If they find that they can't increase revenue, they'll be able to significantly cut back and make a profit, similar to what MySpace did recently. For now, they don't need to worry about that. I don't know where you're getting this Facebook has no competition business. Everything on the web has competition, and Facebook is no exception. According to Alexa, Facebook has five times the daily reach of MySpace, which is its next-closest competitor. It's got six times the reach of Twitter, which is called its competitor even though it's not. It's fifteen times larger than the number three network, which is Hi 5. That's user interaction. Facebook also has more pictures than any other web site in existence, more than Flickr, which is the largest photo storage site in existence. Barack Obama, who may not be the largest Facebook page, has twice the followers of APlusK on Twitter, and on Facebook he has vastly more functionality than APlusK does on Twitter: he can push nearly anything at users directly from the site, no third-party needed. It's hard to track Note use and Video use since Facebook's based on privacy. However, I'd make a bet that Facebook's videos are enough to place it in the Top 10 for video sites worldwide. I don't know how I'd compare notes. Google Search has competition, because it's possible to force search engine use through products. (I've used Bing a few times in the last month because I see it when I search on Facebook.) Yahoo Mail has competition, because its service has certain aspects that are unpleasant. (Email ads, for instance.) Facebook has none. In fact, because Facebook's core service is so incredibly tight, I'd bet that Facebook could upgrade nothing for two-three years, and it would still maintain its lead over competitors, solely for the reason that it can't lose that lead unless users see something elsewhere that's so compelling it makes them switch. I can't think of anything that compelling, save perhaps mobile networking, and Facebook's already the top phone-based social network despite not yet having location-based technologies.