What Ever Happened To MySpace?

Remember when MySpace was the hot social networking site? It was the online place to see and be seen, peaking at more than 73 million users in 2008. But as fast as you can say “Facebook,” it was yesterday's news.

The struggling site, purchased by News Corp. for $580 million in 2005, will be sold to Specific Media for $35 million in cash and stock. News Corp. will reportedly retain a small stake in the company.

Looking for a niche

As consumers flocked to Facebook, MySpace struggled to find a niche, eventually becoming more of an online meeting place where fans could interact, based on musicians and show biz personalities.

In its heyday, MySpace was constantly in hot water with authorities, who scolded it about its privacy and other policies.

In 2006, for example, the State of Massachusetts demanded that MySpace make dramatic changes to its web site to ensure the safety of minors.

In a letter to company officials, the state's attorney general demanded that MySpace increase its minimum user age from 14 to 18 after an investigation he launched revealed that MySpace did not have sufficient safeguards in place to protect children from sexually explicit and other inappropriate content.

Child predators

Other officials raised concerns that potential child predators use MySpace to locate and communicate with possible victims and that MySpace is also used to post violent images or content to bully or threaten children.

A year later, under pressure from a group of states, MySpace removed thousands of convicted sex offenders from its membership rolls. In many ways, the site cleared the way for Facebook, which was able to avoid some of the problems MySpace encountered, though it still comes in for its share of complaints about privacy.

Many of the scams and spam emails that routinely show up on Facebook pages once used MySpace as a main launching pad. But not so much any more.

In perhaps a telling sign, the last complaint about MySpace received at ConsumerAffairs.com was last December. It was from Beverly, of Houma, La. In the complaint, Beverly complained about recent changes to the site.

“Everyone I have talked to on Facebook is complaining, and yes, that's where they are going,” Beverly said.