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I did something this week that I haven't done in years. I logged into MySpace. As a social media consultant I always tell clients to maintain their digital platforms on a regular basis. In other words, log in every day, answer messages, post interesting links. Realizing that I broke this cardinal rule, I jumped back on to what was once the leading social network in the world to see what I was missing.

Surprisingly, the site looks a whole lot neater than I remember it. I dare say there is even a level of sophistication to the new design, including a tidy navigation bar, clean text, and an attractive colour palette. However, none of this can save the site that announced this week that it has laid off almost half of its thousand-person team. To put yet another nail in its digital coffin, just yesterday management confirmed they're considering selling MySpace.

As I explore my abandoned account I see 557 unread messages, 116 upcoming birthdays, and 4 friends online. The latter of these stats is perhaps the most telling. With thousands of my friends registered on MySpace, it's quickly apparent that no one is using it. As Facebook stole the spotlight in 2008, we all left our top friends and HTML customization for a better online destination.

What did MySpace do wrong? How did they fall from number one?

When Facebook launched it was truly clean and simple. My mom signed up. Maybe yours did too. The ability to attract such a wide audience helped Zuckerberg's baby keep us all coming back for more. Instead of looking like a cheap high school hangout, Facebook was appropriate for everyone. Today, everyone includes 600 million strong.

MySpace was also slow to innovate during its few years at the top. It seems the company latched on to being number one and never really put much effort into staying there. It was only as Facebook started to steal users that MySpace got busy with new features and designs. However, this makeover attempt only made the site more cluttered, less attractive to the mainstream world.

Perhaps most important of all of MySpace's problems is its community. Facebook focused on attracting real people to its site, individuals were encouraged to post their real names, birthday, and interests. MySpace, however, was a bit more of a fantasy land. If you wanted to sign up as Unicorn1988, they made it easy. It was difficult for the young and old to interact on the site, with MySpace leaning toward a more immature demographic.

In a 2006 article in the Washington Post writer Cheryl MacPherson said it best. When a friend urged her to sign up for MySpace she did, but she wasn't prepared for what happened next. "I typed a couple of personal tidbits about myself, and 15 minutes later, my page was beating with pink and green flowers and Cat Stevens music."

The one area where MySpace has succeeded is with bands. The site has attracted musicians far and wide, and brought together their fans. But as Facebook continues to focus on enhancing its business (AKA fan) pages, they will likely lure these artists in, chipping away at MySpace's community one friend at a time.

I get the feeling that this week marked the last time I will ever log in to MySpace. RIP my old friend.

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