In this week's episode, I explore the rise and fall of Myspace— the first site that put social networking on the map at a global scale. I look at Myspace's origins, why the site became so popular, and its cultural impact, including some of the most prolific artists and influencers to come out of the platform. I also go into how and why Myspace ultimately failed, and the legacy it left behind for Millennials online. RaWrrrrrr <3

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Timestamps:

5:34 The idea of Myspace

7:58 Myspace launches

8:42 Why Myspace was so successful

15:07 Cultural impact of Myspace - music discovery, influencers, aesthetics & coding legacy

21:45 News Corp buys Myspace

23:29 The downfall of Myspace

Resources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myspace2

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_DeWolfe

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Anderson 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jb1gWuzczSQ&ab_channel=MagnatesMedia

Kate M. Miltner & Ysabel Gerrard (2022) “Tom had us all doing front-end web development”: a nostalgic (re)imagining of Myspace, Internet Histories, 6:1-2, 48-67, 

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/24701475.2021.1985836 

Angwin, Julia. Stealing Myspace: The Battle to Control the Most Popular Website in America. Random House, 2009. 

Irina Shklovski & danah boyd “Music as Cultural Glue: Supporting Bands and Fans on MySpace.” https://www.danah.org/papers/BandsAndFans.pdf

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/01/the-rise-and-fall-of-myspace/69444/  

https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/18/business/news-corp-to-acquire-owner-of-myspacecom.html 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4695495.stm 

https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/rem-previewing-album-on-myspace-66407/   

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/06/as-myspace-sells-for-35-million-a-history-of-the-networks-valuation/241224/ 

https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna19329332 

https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna42475503 

https://centennialworld.com/gen-z-return-of-the-scene-queen/  

https://money.cnn.com/2014/10/29/technology/wsjd-murdoch-myspace/index.html 

https://www.codecademy.com/resources/blog/myspace-and-the-coding-legacy/ 

https://techcrunch.com/2008/06/12/facebook-no-longer-the-second-largest-social-network/ 

https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN05173148/ 

https://www.businessinsider.com/2009/1/myspace-passed-on-buying-facebook-for-75-million 

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-jun-17-fi-ct-myspace17-story.html 

https://www.forbes.com/2007/02/26/myspace-speed-facebook-tech-intel-cx_df_0227myspace.html?sh=2131442d344d 

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/jun/30/myspace-sold-35-million-news 

https://www.businessinsider.com/former-myspace-ceo-explains-why-facebook-was-able-to-dominate-social-media-despite-coming-second-2015-5