MySpace recently began a complete overhaul not only to its visual identity and interface, but also to its positioning and focus. The transformation is expected to finish at the end of November, but site visitors now can see what’s in store through promotional copy content, screen shots, and videos spread across the home page and site like early holiday gifts.
Mashable posted a quick introduction and overview and promises to do more in-depth review and reporting over the next few days. Check out the screen shots at the end of the post.
I’ll be watching this closely as well, but not for the obvious reasons. Sure, I can appreciate how far they’ve moved the needle on identity — the new logo (see video below) is a breath of fresh air and sets an enthusiastic and aspirational tone. After five minutes, I already forgot what the old logo looked like. The modular, box-grid layout is current and percolates with possibility, but it’s the bold redirect from all things to all people to entertainment for Generation Y that intrigues me most.
MySpace once defined social networks, and in not-too short a time, they epitomized the past. The old, out-of-touch, and irrelevant past. In search of the shiny and new, legions of young adults, teens, and tweens ditched the tiled wallpaper, audio clips, favorite band stickers, and funky profile pictures to set up camp with Facebook. It wasn’t long before MySpace became shorthand for out of touch, kicked to the curb. You might expect a brand so forgotten simply to fade away.
Instead, we’ll witness the realignment and return of a leader in the category. Focusing exclusively on the 13- to 35-year-old demographic, MySpace will prove if they still have (or found in the interim) what it takes to be the “social entertainment destination.” Will new users believe? Will loyal users stay? Things could get very interesting come November. Stay tuned.
The New MySpace: An Introduction
The New MySpace Logo