Myspace Uses Surprising New Tactics To Win Back Old Users

Remember us at Myspace?

You may remember the old social media haunt, Myspace from way back in the noughties when it sported its garish looks but now it’s making a comeback... and it’s coming straight for users inboxes. Yes, you read that correct. In a bid to bring the old times back and save itself from the grasps of certain doom, the social network has started sending its dormant users’ old pics of themselves to their inbox with the cheeky tagline; “The good, the rad and the what were you thinking,” in a somewhat desperate bid to get them logging back in.

Source: myspace.com

This move comes as the company desperately tries to revamp and rework its image since its new takeover in 2011, when singer Justin Timberlake took a stake in the company along with ad agency, Specific Media. The network has struggled since losing its edge over Facebook back in 2005 and with its questionable blackmailing attempt to get users back, it seems like the site is setting itself up for a further fall.

The site was snapped up in 2005 by media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s company, News Corp for a whopping $580 million however this proved fruitless and ended up in it’s resale in 2011 for a noticeably smaller sum of $35 million dollars. Since then, there have been countless attempts to relaunch the site and regain interest but to no avail until this latest cheeky attempt which seems to almost force the user’s hand by using the cringe-factor and trying to get in on the new ‘throwback’ bandwagon.

They are attempting to relaunch in a massively saturated market, a market which has changed dramatically in the years since Myspace was knocking about on the web. One clear and unmistakable change is that of the power share in the social networking environment. Even it’s old rival, Facebook, is facing potential problems with a reported fall in user interest thanks to other apps such as WhatsApp and WeChat. And Facebook’s rival? The social juggernaut, Twitter. With a total average of over 600 million registered users sending out 58 million tweets in a single day, there is no mistaking the sheer domination of this microblogging social machine.

So with this is mind, Myspace needs to up its game considerably if they fancy their chances against the likes of Twitter. New owners, Justin Timberlake and Chris and Tim Vanderhook, have took to the site’s defence saying that it aims to be “a social network for the creative community to connect to their fans” and to have a bigger focus on both signed and unsigned musical talent.

Source: myspace.com

However, with a controversial new campaign to add to their already fragile image, as well as a tagline of ‘the good, the rad and the what were you thinking’, Myspace may have to face the inevitable question of ‘what were you thinking?’ for themselves.

Julie Bundy

Hi my name is Julie! Fresh out of university studying journalism, I love to have a good laugh and I believe in always keeping an open mind. In my spare time, if you don't catch me between two pages of a book, you'll most likely find me in front of the computer or the TV! I also like to make cakes if I have the time (and the ingredients!)... or as my friends like to call them, Bundy Buns. Make sure you follow me @JulieAtSMF.

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