MySpace Has Found Itself!

Less than two weeks ago, according to TechCrunch (yes, the same publication now notorious for publishing the stolen Twitter documents - I'm almost loathe to reference them), MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta admitted, in short, that his company was in the middle of an identity crisis.

In an email to employees, Van Natta explained, "Our users don’t know if we’re a social portal, a music site, or an entertainment hub." He also reported that MySpace was taking steps to unify the site and "lay the groundwork to provide more clarity on our brand and business."

He wasn't kidding about taking those steps. MySpace seems to have made short work of that, announcing just this Thursday that MySpace will soon be repositioned as an "entertainment destination" specifically focused on gaming.

With Facebook and Twitter leading the myriad social networking sites, iTunes and Pandora topping the various music portals, and YouTube and Hulu dominating video outlets, online gaming seems like a good space for MySpace. The site already has several games available; it seems reasonable to believe that they could successfully expand that offering to define their entire brand. Perhaps MySpace will distinguish itself among other gaming sites by reconfiguring its "social network" aspect to remarkably facilitate and supplement its new gaming core.

Doubtless there will be much public discussion and debate in the coming days, weeks, and months, about the upcoming changes to MySpace. If minor updates to Facebook's layout can spark hundreds of "Change it back!" groups among Facebook users, it will be interesting to see what outcry arises from a complete brand overhaul of MySpace.

I, for one, am happy for the folks at MySpace, and optimistic about the future of the once-leader of social networks. This new identity may or may not be successful at rebuilding the brand; but without it, MySpace had no chance in the world at holding together. As Someone Wise once said, "a house divided...."