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First there was SixDegrees.com… then came Friendster.com… and shortly following was MySpace.com.  You probably see where this is headed already…

MySpace is on a fast track to the same fate that those social networking sites suffered before it – it’s in process of being replaced.  Maybe that’s a harsh statement considering the network still receives some 120 million unique visits monthly. 

But to put it in a different perspective, consider that MySpace and Facebook were approximately the same size, in terms of unique monthly visitors, a year ago.  Today MySpace ranks less than half the size of Facebook, as the younger rival is receiving upwards of 275 million monthly visits.

So where did MySpace go wrong?  Here are a few ideas to consider:

Too much user control – Just check out some of the crazy user profiles on MySpace… and what’s with the music auto play?

Ease of customization – MySpace does allow for customization… but requires you to work with html.  Facebook’s open source applications allow it to be more nimble and easier for those less technically inclined.

User demographics – While MySpace users skew younger, Facebook’s fastest growing demographic sector is women 55 and older.

Privacy – Whether it is perceived or real… Facebook is much more trusted.  In fact, according to research conducted by TRUSTe, Facebook was named one of the top 10 trusted sites by Americans in 2009.

Staying connected – Facebooks’ “news feed” allows users to stay connected with friends via a single source more intuitively than MySpace “status and mood” updates.

Many continue to argue that social networking sites are just passing fads, to which I have two responses.

•  SNS sites have been around since at least 1997…13ish years is a long fad!
•  That argument mistakes implementation for application as it’s the execution of past technologies and models that are failing, not the concept of online social interaction.

So is Facebook next in line to suffer this fate?  Only if another portal emerges that does everything they do…only better.

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