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Viacom Wants Their Own MySpace...Like, Yesterday!
The still new 3rd wave of social networking on the Web is exploding with growth. First there were the blogs and date sites, then places like Friendster and LinkedIn. Now we have the huge 2-year-only story of MySpace, which has completely thrown social online networking on its head.
MySpace now rivals Google and MSN.com for highest amount of monthly unique users. One of News Corp's first moves since its acquisition of MySpace last summer was to launch a new community for American Idol fans to blog directly with this new season's cast members as well as read posts from Paula, Simon, Randy and Ryan. Eventually, it wouldn't be surprising to see show mp3s and sound clips being shared and passed around there. And maybe full song downloads for purchase, too.
MSN already shifted around its social networking site to space.msn.com a few months ago. Google has its Blogger. And now a new 800lb gorilla is jumping in.
Viacom -- especially MTV Networks -- wants in on the social net action and aims to take it to a higher level.
CEO Tom Freston announced yesterday its advancing development plans to rival the other sites. With MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and LOGO as centerpieces, imagine the possiblities. They could take a dominant position fast, if executed well. Far from believing the race is over, Freston said the era of social networking has "just started." Within the year, Freston said Viacom will have some sort of presence in the social networking sphere, although it's unclear whether the company will do this through partnerships or acquisitions. That would put Freston and Viacom toe-to-toe with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., which has attracted some 50-to-60 million users to hangout on MySpace.
The big question is how Viacom will figure out how to monetize it without it turning anyone off, especially because interactions are between consumers using the site. Sites like MySpace and MSN Spaces are notoriously independent and free-spirited...and anti-corporate. There's already a building backlash developing at MySpace simply because of its new ownership by Rupert Murdoch's Fox/News Corp. At least MTV Networks are publically-accepted corporate entities.
The other looming problem is the growing controversy of lurking and dangerous sexual/child predators using sites like MySpace to find and lure in victims. This is a massive red flag for advertisers wary of having a client's brand associated with indecency. And a major public safety issue which could have a negative brand impact, if not addressed and fixed.
It is MySpace's biggest weakness right now; if Viacom can be the solution while being the coolest, they've got the game won.
Reuters article
posted by Unknown @ Thursday, March 02, 2006,
