In Your Face Myspace

With our generation's technological speed we all foresaw the decrease of MySpace's popularity. While MySpace owners may consider the medium to be the essence of social life on the Web as well as the paradigm of all social sites, there's a sign that its use may now be reserved solely for young teens, people attempting to sustain old friendships and those who just don't know that better media exist. Myspace may still be the most popular medium in number, but activity is quickly decreasing and News Corp. is grasping for a way out.

The founders of MySpace are being bumped for the moment so that 4-year owner, News Corp., can attempt a revamp of the most dominant social networking site in the U.S. The stepping aside of Chris DeWolfe and Tom Anderson, whose contracts weren't due to expire until October, represents a pivotal test for the viability of social-networking sites. While social-networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook have exploded in popularity in recent years, they have struggled to generate the kind of revenue and earnings prospects that can sustain them as businesses over the long haul.

News Corp. now aims to show that a large conglomerate, with a portfolio that includes many old-media properties including newspapers, can succeed at that task.
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.
News Corp. sees MySpace as critical in its transformation from a conglomerate of traditional television, movie and newspaper businesses to a new-media titan. But while MySpace grew quickly following News Corp.'s purchase, last year its revenue fell short of executives' targets, according to people familiar with the matter. News Corp. also owns Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal.

MySpace is still the dominant social-networking site in the U.S. But its U.S. audience has fallen this year. In March, MySpace attracted 70.1 million unique visitors, down 3.6% from a year ago, according to comScore Media Metrix. Meanwhile, Facebook is nipping at its heels. FacebookMySpace's world-wide audience a year ago, and is growing fast in the U.S., with 61.2 million unique visitors in March, up 72% from a year earlier. Facebook also has made international expansion a priority, pressuring MySpace surpassed .