MySpace Making a Comeback

One of the original social media spaces, MySpace, is making a comeback.  Should I have ended that sentence with a period or a question mark?

Honestly MySpace was my first personal entry into social media, not for me myself but for my then pre-teen daughter.  I wouldn't let her on, until she got to high school and the school assured us cyber-weary parents that they had created a dedicated, safe space on MySpace for the students.

Then along came Facebook and the avalanche began.  And then LinkedIn and Twitter and the rest is life as we know it now.  It seemed that there wasn't enough space for MySpace.

Through the evolution of it all, MySpace needed to find a place for itself, like any brand in any category.  It needed to define its brand and find its audience, much like Tide, Coca-Cola, or United Airlines.  The brand chose music and did find a niche for awhile, only to basically lose its audience over the course of time.  It didn't offer enough of a benefit.

But it's back, with the help of Justin Timberlake, again trying to own the musical space in social media. Will it work?  I'm not sure, but when you read through the plans it has a shot.  Strong backing from some pretty influential people ... something that social media is all about.  A definitive stake in the ground, something that branding is all about.  And hopefully a well targeted audience that it can satisfy, something that marketing is all about.

How ironic that Justin Timberlake, of The Social Network fame, is showing how reality can mirror fiction!  At the end of the day, it'll ultimately be all about the brand experience.  If it's well crafted, satisfying, and unique then I'd say it has a shot at a comeback.  We all love a comeback, especially in music.

What do you think?  What's your experience?  Jim.

Jim Joseph
President, Cohn & Wolfe NA
Author, The Experience Effect series
Marketing Professor, NYU