In the early 2000s, MySpace was the largest social media platform, with over 100 million active users at its peak. However, within a few short years, Facebook overtook MySpace in popularity and userbase. How did the newcomer Facebook manage to overcome the dominant player MySpace in such a short period of time?
The Rise of MySpace
MySpace was founded in 2003 and quickly became the most popular social network. By 2006, it had grown to over 100 million active users worldwide. MySpace appealed to teenagers and young adults who enjoyed customizing their profiles with HTML and decorating their pages with music, photos, and colorful backgrounds. Users could easily meet new friends, comment on profiles, and join interest-based groups. MySpace was a pioneer in social media and online self-expression.
Facebook’s Humble Beginnings
Facebook was founded in 2004 by Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg as a closed network for college students. The site was only open to students with a .edu email address. This exclusivity generated buzz on campuses and attracted new users through word-of-mouth. Facebook began supporting other schools in 2005 and made its first steps towards being open to everyone in 2006.
Facebook Focuses on the User Experience
Early on, Facebook prioritized creating a simple, intuitive user experience. The site had a clean interface that allowed users to easily connect with friends, share photos, and update their personal profiles. Facebook also focused on creating a real social experience by only allowing users to see profiles of people at their own school initially. This helped foster more authentic connections between people who were likely to know each other offline.
In contrast, MySpace permitted users to browse any profile, which led to problems with anonymous interactions. Facebook’s approach created a safer, more social experience that resonated with users.
Facebook Provides a Scalable Platform
As Facebook began expanding beyond college campuses, its founders recognized the need for a platform that could scale rapidly. They built Facebook using modular, flexible code that could easily add new features and accommodate millions of new users.
MySpace, on the other hand, used less scalable code that made the site slow, buggy, and prone to crashes as it grew. Facebook’s strong infrastructure enabled it to swiftly roll out to new users without compromising performance.
Targeting High School and International Users
In early 2006, Facebook began allowing high school students to join and opened up to international users. These moves instantly expanded Facebook’s potential userbase from millions to hundreds of millions of users. High school students flocked to Facebook as an exciting alternative social scene outside school.
Meanwhile, MySpace was still focused on serving its core base of teenagers and musicians. It failed to adapt and expand to new demographics and geographic markets. Facebook’s willingness to explore new user segments provided crucial growth.
Facebook Continuously Innovates and Improves
Facebook releasing frequent product improvements based on user feedback. New features like the News Feed (2006) and Like button (2009) made interacting on Facebook more engaging. Facebook also introduced third-party games and applications that let people personalize their profiles and find new ways to connect.
MySpace made few substantial changes to improve users’ experience over time. It struggled to identify and address user needs. By adapting to user behavior and rolling out new features, Facebook gave people more ways to participate on the platform.
Facebook Focuses on Mobile
As smartphones grew popular in the late 2000s, Facebook quickly optimized its product for mobile users. In 2007, Facebook released both mobile web and text messaging (SMS) versions of its service. By 2010, there were Facebook mobile apps for iOS, Android, and other major operating systems.
MySpace failed to innovate for the mobile environment. Its desktop-centric site was clunky and frustrating to use on early mobile browsers. This poor mobile experience alienated existing users and made it difficult for MySpace to attract new mobile-first users.
Targeted, Social Advertising Model
Facebook introduced an innovative ad model that allowed advertisers to target users based on profile information like location, interests, education, and more. These highly targeted, social ads generated much higher returns for advertisers compared to MySpace’s display ad model.
Facebook’s advertising system provided great value to brands and businesses, bringing in billions in revenue to fuel Facebook’s expansion. MySpace struggled to effectively monetize its platform and turn its large userbase into profit.
Facebook Focuses on User Engagement
Facebook meticulously tracked user engagement data and used it to make data-driven decisions about product features and growth initiatives. If certain features were not promoting interaction and engagement, Facebook would remove or alter them. This focus on constantly optimizing for engagement helped Facebook design an addictive, habit-forming product.
MySpace did not take a data-driven approach to improving stickiness and engagement. As the Facebook product became increasingly refined to encourage participation, MySpace stagnated. Its poor engagement led existing users to spend less time on the site and hurt its viral growth.
Acquisitions to Gain Users and Technology
Facebook made several key acquisitions to expand its capabilities and reach new users. Some notable acquisitions included:
- Instagram (2012) – gained millions of mobile photo-sharing users
- WhatsApp (2014) – expanded into global messaging and mobile communication
- Oculus VR (2014) – entered virtual reality field and acquired top technology and talent
MySpace made virtually no acquisitions to enhance its product or technology. By acquiring companies with strategic value, Facebook was able to both attract new types of users and strengthen its overall product offering.
Conclusion
Facebook overcame MySpace by focusing on creating the best user experience, pursuing aggressive growth, continuous product innovation, adapting to mobile, developing an effective advertising model, acquiring strategic companies, and optimizing for user engagement. MySpace failed to address its weaknesses and made few changes to its stagnating product. Facebook seized the market opportunity while MySpace sputtered. Within a remarkably short period, Facebook displaced MySpace to become the top social media site globally.
Facebook’s emphasis on building a scalable platform that provided value to users and advertisers allowed it to swiftly expand and leave MySpace in the dust. MySpace serves as a classic example of an internet pioneer that failed to stay innovative and adapt to evolving user needs. Facebook demonstrated greater agility and execution to claim social media dominance in the late 2000s.