I am an admitted obsessed user of social networking sites.  I spend countless hours on MySpace searching through my friend’s pages, editing my profile, searching for music, and posting all of my new pictures.   

But since News Corp. bought MySpace, the dynamic of the site has changed.   

MySpace originally started as an online underground meeting place.  It has since grown in popularity and notoriety to become a highly marketable business. What was the catalyst that sparked its remarkable growth, and will that growth be sustained now that MySpace has gone corporate?

In order to get a better understanding of the trend, let’s start at the beginning. MySpace started with a relatively small group of self-interested college students (Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe) looking for new opportunities for social networking.  It was purchased by News Corp. (best known for its Fox networks), in 2005, for $500 million.  Since the acquisition, the amount of banner ads and other viral marketing has increased two-fold.  

I am not trying to say News Corp. was wrong for buying MySpace; it is completely understandable why News Corp. would want it. MySpace is the perfect opportunity to reach a very large population.  The number of members increase by more than 200,000 people everyday, with a total of over 100 million accounts.  According to TechCrunch, MySpace has topped the most visited websites in America.   

But are the users happy with the change?  As a member myself, and as a beginning PR professional, I have a keen and critical eye for advertising and marketing efforts.  While I understand that advertisements on MySpace have the potential to reach a large population, I feel as though it takes away from the original intention of the site; to express individuality and meet new people.  Advertising on MySpace pages once reserved for individuals, is now being overrun by corporate initiatives.  Borders of pages have become crowded with flashy banner ads and music advertisements that can’t be turned off without clicking on the ad.         

This is a dilemma for companies hoping to cash in on emerging social media: if users start feeling that my/our space has become their/corporate space, the exodus may be swift and unstoppable. Could increasingly intrusive advertising and corporate culture be the downfall of MySpace?  As a user and a media observer, it seems to me that there is a real possibility that MySpace users are already looking for the next best thing.