Is MySpace Dead?

I just don't care that much about MySpace anymore and I'm not entirely sure why. I'll admit I'm obsessed with LinkedIn - and for some reason it seems like everyone is on Facebook these days. So maybe MySpace is just losing the battle for my attention. The whole MySpace interface feels so silly in comparison. A lot of the profiles are splattered with retarded colors, tons of auto-run videos and songs, and dumb animated gifs, while Facebook plainly focuses on individuals and not artistic expression.

I guess I can attribute all that to old age. I don't care enough to play around creatively, and I definitely don't have the time to leave comments on everyone's pages. The other sites just feel easier. My 32-year-old brain doesn't have the capacity and youthful energy to keep up with the MySpace pace.

And here's the other thing. I used MySpace a lot two or three years ago. During that stretch, I was in a certain social circle - before my divorce. I have lost touch with a lot of those friends (many of whom are still in my friends list). Playing around on MySpace is sort of like showing up at a party where there are a ton of people I haven't spoken to in a year. Still - I don't want to remove those friends from my list. As far as I know, we are still "friends" - at least in the sense that they are somewhat interested in what I'm up to these days (and vice versa). If I did happen to run into them at this imaginary party, they might even want to chat for a few minutes.

On that same note, the people in that group certainly know about this website. I have no idea if they are some of the 1000 plus daily visitors, but it's possible. Facebook on the other hand is somewhat new to me. I've had a profile for years, but I had left it nearly friendless and neglected. Now that I'm more active on that site, the friends list is more accurate as far as my current acquaintances, and it is devoid of those from my former life.

And then there's another strange phenomenon. Out of nowhere, people from my past have begun to find me on Facebook (not so much on MySpace). These are people from college, or high school, or even earlier. These people didn't know me as a guy who was married before. For all they know, my current wife is my first¹. So when those people say, "Hey, haven't heard from you in forever! How's everything going?" - I can respond, "Things are great! Living in Philly. Just got married. Work is going well. How have you been?" It's as if these old old friends have joined my very new friends in a weird mesh of a social circle that sort of skips a period of time.

That being said, my Facebook list is terribly short in comparison to my MySpace list. Though I'm not complaining. The connections I've made there recently are awesome. It's great to see some familiar faces from so long ago.

Alternatively, my list of LinkedIn connections is huge. That list is almost entirely comprised of professional connections. They aren't necessarily the type of people I'd let into my personal life. And for that matter, I don't think my Facebook friends would give two shits about my online resume.

So it all comes down to this: Should I give up on MySpace? I can see the value in retaining Facebook and LinkedIn profiles. But at what point do I cut the MySpace ties? Or maybe I'll compromise. I could make sure my profile is updated, strip my page of any content that needs to be changed regularly, and quit feeling obligated to comment on other people's pages. I'll let you know how this all ends up working out.

1. I realize I've buried the lead (as they say in the news business). I did in fact get married last week. I'll have more details later, but this post is about the possible death of MySpace. I didn't want to lose focus.