A whole new attitude
Media executives seem to agree on at least one thing when it comes to Myspace: It must not now -- or ever -- try to compete with the Facebooks and the Google Pluses of the world. The general consensus seems to point to a losing battle. Myspace needs to continue with a complete reset of the brand, open itself up to a wider audience, and offer a wholly different product than it once did.
"I think if they can land one big high-profile client, other marketers would come a clamoring," says Zach Smalley, connections supervisor at Cole &Weber. "Myspace needs marketers, and Facebook does not. I think Myspace is much more willing to work with smaller brands at this point. No matter what, it's going to be a slow upturn growth. It's not going to be any sort of overnight flip-a-switch type of deal where everyone gets back on the Myspace bandwagon."
"Myspace is the underdog right now, and when you are the underdog, you are willing to do more creative and aggressive things to win customers, clients, and users," Lieberman says. "Now that Facebook is public, they have more to lose. They can't be as aggressive and flexible as before. I would have to say that the book is still being written on Myspace.
"Ultimately, everything is going to hinge on user growth," Lieberman adds. "You can have the best content, the best advertisers, the best functionality, the best integration -- but if there is no one there, it's not going to matter at all. Right now, they are driving more unique users, which is both encouraging and really cool. I root for them -- what can I say?"
Tricia Despres is a freelance writer.
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