From letters to emails, socializing and keeping communication intact has always been important for the human race, as it says humans are social animals and, in most cases, making connections come naturally to human beings. If you are an avid social media platform user and often use websites like Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat, you certainly are familiar with MySpace, the site that was a go-to networking option, especially from 2005-2008. [1]

It was the MySpace era where everyone preferred the platform to make new connections with people who shared the same interests, allowing them to collectively share their passion. The platform allowed everyone to have a taste of coding and design their own virtual space(profile) that exhibited their individuality. In order to show your virtual personality MySpace profile had to be customized using coding, by that, it means everyone should have had some experience with coding. 

But was MySpace Any Different Than What We Have Now?

The fact that social media has the power to put across your voice to the masses even without being linked to influential people or the need to broadcast via TV news or newspaper. This free source has not only kept the individuals well connected with their friends and family but has allowed people to explore their true potential, shed their fears and share their ideas and express their opinions about music, current issues, or literally anything under the roof that one finds interesting. MySpace was the same in this aspect. Though MySpace popularity had other reasons, it was not the social networking that made it the must site for the youth.

The Pros and Cons of MySpace

Unlike the currently available social platforms, MySpace encouraged individuality and provided a platform for one to come out of their cocoon and share their space with the people they care about. But it was not a platform for those seeking instant gratification. One needed to work on their profiles to stand out. Although it had its perks, it was also exploited by covert pedophiles and fraudsters as well.

MySpace And The Music Culture

In all honesty, the social media platforms now are pretty much a replication of each other, with so many themes, and filters available in the market, lots of personalization or customization does not actually celebrate the individual aspect of the people. MySpace was unique in that it allowed the user to go beyond socializing and create their own identity that could attract people sharing the same interests or having similar ideologies. Your very own virtual world where you attracted your own tribe. MySpace encouraged cultural symphony by being friends from all the races but having common choices, for example groups of people connected by their favorite music band.

The Space for Music Fans

For many budding artists, musicians and singers, MySpace became the hub to showcase their talent to the wider audience and make forever friends and fans via it. The platform literally revived the music culture as one needed no acquaintances or PR to make it big. Just pure talent and you could have clicked on MySpace. [2] MySpace was built, keeping musicians in mind, thus an online space for everyone who felt connected to music of all kinds to create their online presence and make their own digital identity.

Why is MySpace Designed Around Music?

The music cultural significance of MySpace can be gauged from the fact that in 2006 when Jupiter Research conducted the research on the platform, it was revealed that MySpace was one of the most prominent online platforms to promote community based music. Unlike any other platform, youth connected with a variety of music on MySpace than any other social media website of the time. [3]

While many know MySpace as a hub for music, it was not known to many that there was a reason for choosing music as the main theme of the site. Back when the platform was introduced, its competitor, Friendster, rejected many musical bands from the platform as the social networking site was designed solely for dating purposes.

MySpace saw this as an opportunity, also the fact that the owner himself was a music fan and had been well connected with music aficionados during his teenage days, gave him an edge to design a social networking site around a music theme. 

The Networking and Music Exploration Went Hand in Hand

With social networking being the main trend during the days, the site immediately gained popularity due to the following reasons:

• Musicians in every era require fan following, MySpace utilized this wish of the budding artists to their advantage. When hipsters from many platforms were shown the door, MySpace welcomed them with open arms, providing them a free space to reach the right audience, plan gigs and share the details on the profile bulletin. It is from here many artists that we see on top chart lists, emerged, including the famous Adele.
• The indie music bands and underground bands found a safe platform to make their audience. The comments allowed people to share their views and opinions that were directly accessible to the bands, thus an easier way to connect and improvise as per the audience requirements.
• While other platforms were not very lenient, MySpace gave freedom to their users to customize it to their liking; suddenly coding gained popularity among youth for all the right reasons. Even if one did not want to use the platform, at least in the process, he/she developed an interest in coding. [4]
• The start of college or university is always an ordeal, especially when you plan to join from another city or region. MySpace made it all the more simpler to make friends, even if one felt that their interests were unique and they would not fit in the community well, all they had to do was to initiate their profile and share their interests, letting others decide how they wanted to interact with them. Many college/university students found it easier to make friends even before joining their education institute. 

With MySpace, people experienced a revival of community culture that allowed them to share a unique bond of friendship through mutual interests,hobbies and likings in music and entertainment.

The Customization Option of MySpace and The Value of Top 8

The craze of MySpace, though short-lived, influenced people in many ways. If one compares MySpace with other platforms, for example, MySpace vs Facebook or MySpace vs Instagram, all are provided to connect, network and socialize but MySpace went a bit further by allowing two unique features that had their perks and disadvantages as well.

The option to have an 8-top-friends-list on your profile(later the list was extended to 12) allowed everyone to see your circle, being in top 8 was important for many but when one changed the list it caused rivalries as well. This feature of MySpace integrated the virtual world with the real world but depending on the situation, it promoted extreme friendship or mayhem-causing-hatred among youth.

MySpace was all about music; one could easily set music on arrival of their friend, something that could make anyone feel special. Furthermore, the downloading and uploading of songs became a piece of cake for the music fanatics as downloading a different kind of mp3 player was not required to play songs on MySpace. The fans could directly listen to their favorite songs without the hassle of a third party app or software. [5]

Music Community Culture and MySpace

Launching oneself in the music world was once a hassle, from running after producers to collecting funds for the albums, it was certainly an ordeal for the aspiring artists, but MySpace changed all that. 

It’s simple, customizable space provided the platform the musicians or singers needed. From developing a fanbase to making their own band profile that could serve as an official space worth showing to the producers, life became simpler for the bands who wanted to be recognized but either did not have the means or could not afford to launch themselves. Not only that but they could upload their songs gradually and in fact could download the whole album from a single space. No wonder many artists, and producers immediately made their profiles on MySpace, afterall who does not like easy publicity that too without paying a dime.

Every Good Thing Must Come to An End

While MySpace had a good following, with facebook making it big within a couple of years after its launch in 2004, MySpace started to lose its users in no time. MySpace rise and fall were both too sudden. Though the idea was intriguing, the platform failed to keep up with the demands of the users, not realizing that those in their youth would not remain in that and therefore, their networking space should upgrade with their age and requirements.

Furthermore despite having more than 100 million users, the site usually catered to the US audience, its global presence was not very strong to let it stay popular for many years, as they say, every good thing must come to an end. Though it is still operating,MySpace does not enjoy its past glory.

The Most interesting facts about MySpace

Despite the fact that it is not anymore a social networking website that people prefer, MySpace has its share of fun facts that make its experience all the more interesting for many who feel nostalgic about their time at this wonderful platform that was once an active part of their youth. Read on to revive your fun, youthful days.

• Even if you had no one, Tom Anderson was always your first friend on MySpace. [6]
• The Mirror selfies that we all take, well the credit goes again to Tom for introducing us with them. [7]
• Those nagging friends that you at times wanted to ignore? In MySpace you couldn’t because people knew the last time you were present by seeing when you logged on.
• The idea of socializing using music as your icebreaker is cute and funny. Every platform you visit would have its own music, thus one met the person’s music personality first before actually socializing with them virtually or inperson.

Conclusion

You can still be on MySpace, though it has lost its charm for many, the platform still allows you to blog, collect articles or customize with respect to your taste in music. If nothing, it will revive old memories that remind one of good old days when music and socializing were fun but one needed to work harder to make connections and have their own music cultural tribe. From coding to customization, MySpace was an experience in itself, a virtual world that gave everyone an opportunity to design, code, network and share their happy space with those they adore the most.

Reference:

[1] MySpace rises as new online star. (2006, February 14). NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna11328357

[2] TEDDER. (2020, March 30). The My Generation: An Oral History Of Myspace Music. https://www.stereogum.com/2056046/myspace-music-oral-history/interviews/cover-story/

[3] Music as cultural glue: Supporting bands and fans on MySpace. (2006, January 1). Academia.edu – Share research. https://www.academia.edu/2672710/Music_as_cultural_glue_supporting_bands_and_fans_on_myspace

[4] Andrews, A. (2021, August 25). MySpace and its impact on social media. Medium. https://medium.com/@andrewsae33/myspace-and-its-impact-on-social-media-32a943b86e59

[5] What MySpace taught us about social media. (2016, April 14). Imaginovation | Top Web & Mobile App Development Company Raleigh. https://imaginovation.net/blog/tbt-what-myspace-taught-us-about-social-media/

[6] This is what Tom from MySpace is doing now. (2020, November 16). HELLO!. https://www.hellomagazine.com/travel/2020111645793/tom-myspace-founder-travel-photographer/

[7] Mana. (2021, July 7). #TBT: 6 things you totally forgot about MySpace. Digital Marketing – Social Media – Email Marketing – Chicago. https://lightspandigital.com/blog/6-things-you-totally-forgot-about-myspace/