On the eve of 2011 comes word that a new round of mass layoffs will soon hit MySpace.
According to All Things Digital, the cuts could comprise up to 50% of the social network's staff of 1,100. Management of the site, whose revenues and traffic are in severe decline, are reportedly in the throes of deep cost-cutting measures - which included sending the staff home for the last week of the year.
Little wonder that everybody in the digital world seems to be expecting a sale. In late November, News Corp.'s Chief Operating Officer Chase Carey admitted the company is open to all options when it comes to MySpace, and alluded to that possibility.
“There are opportunities here to do 20 things but that doesn’t mean you’re going to do any of the 20." Carey said at the Reuters Global Media Summit. “If there’s something there that makes sense you ought to think about it.â€
Chase may have thought of 20, but TheWrap has boiled it down to five for Rupert Murdoch & Co. (any more, and we’d have to bill ‘em a consulting fee).
So here, in no particular order, they are:
1. Call It Something Other Than 'MySpace'
I’ve been preaching this one for years. When something crosses over the line separating “cool†from “uncool,†kids, in general, are not quick to gravitate to that which is no longer cool (think: UGGs, silly bands, boy bands, Friendster) until it becomes a nostalgia thing ('80s synth pop, boy bands, TAB, etc.). And even then it’s fleeting.
Rupe should take a page out of the Abercrombie & Fitch playbook. When A&F’s “cool†factor plateau-ed among the 14-18-year-old set, they simply launched another one â€" Hollister. (Perhaps a better example, courtesy of MTV: “Laguna Beach†> “The Hills†> “The City.â€)
Bonus tip: If you do go the rebrand route, don’t tell anyone you’re doing it. Launch “NewSpace†as a completely new product. (Also, don’t use “space†or “book†in the name.) You’ve already done the redesign -- though I would’ve saved that for the New Coke.
2. Kick Out Anyone Without a Band
This is a radical idea that would certainly help return MySpace to “cool,†at least in terms of fans using the site to access band information. Rope it off. Make it a VIP, invite-only network. Sure, you’d lose more traffic -- but you’re losing it anyway.
As a focused, destination site for artist information, MySpace would become a much more desirable place for advertisers than, say, a site featuring thousands and thousands of abandoned profiles. "MySpace and Facebook really aren't even competing in the same category any more," EMarketer analyst Debra Aho Williamson said
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