MySpace

Myspace is a social networking service that emerged in 2003, created by Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe. It gained rapid popularity by offering users the ability to create personalized profiles, upload photos and music, post blog entries, and connect with others. The platform was noted for its customizable pages, especially in its early years, when users could alter layout and color schemes with HTML and CSS and curate a “Top 8” list of friends. By 2006–2007 it had become one of the largest social networks worldwide, and in 2005 News Corporation acquired Myspace for about $580 million.

As its user base grew, Myspace faced intense competition from Facebook and other platforms, and its prominence declined in the late 2000s. The site attempted redesigns and repositioning but struggled to maintain market leadership. In 2011 News Corp sold Myspace to Specific Media for about $35 million; Justin Timberlake joined as an investor and helped steer a relaunch focused on music and entertainment. The 2013 relaunch introduced a cleaner interface and a stronger emphasis on content creation, music discovery, and social sharing.

In 2016 Time Inc. acquired Myspace from Specific Media, continuing its evolution as a content-focused site rather than a general social network. Today Myspace operates primarily as a music- and entertainment-oriented platform, hosting user-generated content, media, and creator pages, while its influence as a general social network has waned since its peak in the mid-2000s.