I’m sure we can all remember designing the layout for our Myspace page, adding music from our favourite bands, photos of ourselves and our friends and spending hours looking at profiles and commenting. It’s hard to recall, but at one point Myspace was the hub for social activity. Flash forward a few years and Facebook has taken social interaction to a whole new level. While we’re all on Facebook playing games, tagging photos, and creeping profiles, Myspace is still defying the odds and thriving outside of the spotlight.

What was once a website based on social connections and content sharing for people of all ages, is now a music network that is growing larger every day. Myspace is a great example of how shifting your focus online, can bring unexpected success. If you take the time to visit the website, you’ll find bands and artists of all genres showcasing their song recordings, concert/show listings and interacting with fans. With a sleek new image, Myspace helps users connect with their favourite artists with daily top artist charts and even offers them the ability to purchase music.

The new Myspace is about showcasing new and interesting movies, music, TV, games and people who create, find and share. The site offers a simple signup and once you’re in, live notifications will let you know who is interacting with you. You can set viewing preferences and auto share content with Facebook and Twitter. Myspace sees the new design as an award for users who love to share, listen to favourite artists over and over and connect with new interests. They emphasize that music is their core focus and they want to showcase users who find the “cool stuff” and create trends in the online community. There is also a game section to keep you occupied for hours and the topic page features new trends, world events and allows users to watch video clips, read articles, and view photos. Myspace is encouraging self expression through profile design and has recently re-launched with a new logo to match the concept.

There is even a new section entitled karaoke that features Myspace users singing their favourite songs and showcases the most popular videos. It has never been easier to reach out to the music community and we can all thank Myspace for that!

Despite the attention Facebook has received in the past few years, Myspace is far from dead. The new beta site is a breeze to navigate and the graphics and content organization are flawless. While it may seem that only one community can be the winner, I think both have their strengths and weaknesses. Facebook will never have the personalization that Myspace offers and it will never be able to compete with the platforms Myspace has created for bands and artists to share their media. On the other hand, Myspace will never have the personal connectivity that Facebook offers or the corporate brand pages that allow businesses to interact with consumers. While both similar concepts, their communities and the user experience are entirely unique.

It will be interesting to see how users respond to the new Myspace. Hopefully the re-design and re-launch will create some well-deserved buzz for the long lost website. It just goes to show you that re-inventing a brand can make all the difference in the world.