The new version of Myspace is finally available to the public and we wanted to give it try and see whether it has a place in the new social media landscape. We already knew that Justin Timberlake will attempt to increase the hype of the new Myspace and that its new version will focus more on music. As for these two, they were spot on. The new Myspace is all about music AND Justin Timberlake.

After trying it for a day, here are my first notes on Myspace:

  • It’s like a combination of Last.fm and Spotify.
  • It has a minimal design and stands out with its horizontal scrolling rather than standard vertical scrolling.
  • It already has a library of popular artists that you can listen, either with full songs, or previews.
  • There is a feeling of “what should I do now” after listening to a couple of songs (that you might already had on your music folders.)
  • The “connect” button is slightly confusing, since you are also using it to add songs to your library.
  • Perfect for Justin Timberlake fans.
  • It seems more like a social network for personal use, since it focuses on your musical taste. Except for new artists and record labels, it doesn’t seem to address businesses, at least for now.

Verdict: Myspace is trying to recover and focus on music, trying to find a gap in the social media arena. Even though they managed to create some buzz around it with the new launching, they need to prove that they can make it with the competition, find their path and gain loyal fans. From a personal point of view, Myspace seems good, but I’m not sure whether it would be part of my daily routine. From a professional point of view, Myspace has a very specific target audience in an era when social music is trending and can be found on various sites and platforms. It’s up to them to come up with inventive ways to endure in time!