Farewell Tom: The Rise & Fall of Myspace

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Apr 04, 2024•31 min

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Episode description

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