The MySpace Phenomenon

Doubled Google's Traffic

Social networking isn't new. It's been around as long as there have been people. It just means meeting your friends' friends and expanding your social circles.

And today, online social network systems abound. So what makes MySpace so successful that double the number of people use the site than do those who use the popular Google search engine—and this within four years of launching the site in 2003?

MySpace is a force to be reckoned with, what with 54 million people having created profiles by early 2006, and with some 180,000 people registering with the site on a daily basis. Onlookers can't decide if MySpace was a stroke of genius or a happy accident, but however you decide to view MySpace, it knocked out the competition and is here to stay. Maybe that's why Rupert Murdoch bought it for $580,000,000.

It's Easy

Part of the MySpace charm is in just how easy it is to grow contacts. It's a process that you can almost just sit back and watch. You join MySpace and create a profile. You invite some of your friends to join, and you use the MySpace search engine to find friends who are already registered. This creates your fledgling "Friend Space." But the unique aspect of this Friend Space is in the fact that all of your friends' friends become an automatic part of your circle. Within a few short minutes, you've gained perhaps hundreds or even thousands of contacts.

In fact, if you want to get technical, all MySpace members are a part of your Extended Network. The co-founder of MySpace, Tom Anderson, is added to every member's Friend Space, so that all members are connected through this man, just as we are all connected to the first man: Adam.

Now, say you want to take a look at your Extended Network. Go visit a friend's profile, take a look to see who belongs to his Friend Space, click on any photo in that space, see that person's profile, and etc. You can invite people to join your Friend Space and if they accept your request, you can then send email, chat, send links, and share anything else you like, for instance, photos.

Now that you have a basic understanding of how MySpace works, you'll be asking yourself: why is MySpace more popular than other, similar online networking venues? The main reason, you'll find, is the focus on the music scene.

Post Performance Dates

Early in its history, the majority of the members of MySpace were members of bands and other musicians. The web site's co-founders were big on the Los Angeles music scene. Music acts found MySpace a convenient place to both post performance dates and communicate with fans. By 2004, MySpace Music was created, which is an indie-music portal where bands can upload songs to their MySpace profiles and allow people to download the songs without payment. For a musician looking for a break in his career, MySpace is considered better than other social networking online venues.