MySpace Continues Its Free Fall Into Oblivion

If you enjoy the unfolding drama of MySpace’s slow descent into obscurity, you’ll appreciate the latest stats. According to TechCrunch and comScore, MySpace traffic dropped 14.4 percent between January and February 2011, from 73 million visitors to 63 million visitors. That’s a 43.2 percent overall drop in the course of one year — a never-clearer sign that News Corp.’s once-popular social network is twirling down the toilet at the speed of light.

Meanwhile, as the enjoyment of visiting MySpace drops to the level of a root canal, News Corp. is accelerating the process of selling the company by slashing its price. News Corp. purchased MySpace for $580 million in 2005 and may end up selling for the bargain bin price tag of $50 million to $200 million, according to Bloomberg. And though News Corp. is getting into the social gaming action with the likes of Zynga, makers of the absurdly popular FarmVille, the head of News Corp.’s digital media group, Jonathan Miller, said that MySpace will not be part of the equation.

I once had a modicum of hope for MySpace. I thought maybe the folks (the ones that are left, that is) at MySpace could play to the site’s strengths and refocus on independent music distribution and promotion. Instead, countless revamps later, MySpace has settled into the sad truth that it can’t keep up with the changes in social networking — it’s not about static sites anymore but rather apps: location-based mashups like Agora, photo sharing like Color, and group texting and video chat services like GroupMe and Beluga that use the Twilio platform.

But now I have no faith in further transformation; I just want to see its employees find lucrative new jobs before giving MySpace a good old-fashioned Viking funeral.