Widely covered, this story may actually indicate something big – Social Networking sites are in for some changes. The big buy out may be the goal for many, but is likely to provide stagnation or decline. While Facebook has gr
own rapidly the last few years, MySpace have stagnated.
Here are some good tidbits from Wall Street Journals coverage.
“People familiar with the situation said News Corp., was completing a deal to name former Facebook Chief Operating Officer Owen Van Natta as chief executive to succeed Mr. DeWolfe. He would report to Jon Miller, the former AOL chief executive who was recruited to join News Corp. this month in a newly created position of chief digital officer. Charged with all News Corp.’s stand-alone digital properties, he was particularly given the mission of shoring up MySpace.”
“More broadly, MySpace, like other social-networking sites, still must overcome doubts about the medium’s viability. Advertisers, for one, remain leery. “Advertising doesn’t fit so neatly into a conversation that people are having among themselves,” says Tom Bedecarre, chief executive of independent digital-ad firm AKQA. “The interruptive model of advertising hasn’t been successful.””
“Three top MySpace executives, including Amit Kapur, former chief operating officer, left the company in March to work on a start-up. MySpace has yet to name successors for those positions. Mr. Miller began discussing the job with potential candidates including Mr. Van Natta, but hadn’t finalized anything when the news of the talks leaked, according to people familiar with the situation. Mr. Van Natta helped expand Facebook but stepped into a less prominent role as chief revenue officer as the site grew, ultimately leaving the company in February 2008. At MySpace, he could serve as a bridge between Silicon Valley and MySpace, which has struggled to match Facebook’s technology prowess. Hearing of the talks, Mr. DeWolfe offered to resign, these people said.”
Its most often not a pretty site when things hit the fan. As far as MySpace goes, one may only wonder if the corporate culture of News Corp. will be able to uphold the indie status that draw traffic in the first place.
Read the full WSJ Online article here.
Comprehensive coverage can be found at these sites: Stephen Laughlin, Tech Blorge , SoCal Tech ,
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