Jeff’s got a great write-up on the MySpace acquisition by News Corp (Murdoch), with pointers to all of the usual (smart) suspects.
There’s an interesting comment by someone named “hunter” in the SiliconBeat comments asserting that MySpace was partially popular because it wasn’t created/owned by mass media.
That’s interesting (and if true, spells trouble for Murdoch, who couldn’t be any more mass media if he tried). I suspect, however, that it’s not true. MySpace created a hip-enough place-to-be, but I attribute that more to the local/indie musicians that are part of the ‘community’, rather than who owns the company. And, of course, that whole viral friends-beget-friends ‘thang.
The only real question is… is it durable? Will people grow out of it? Will ‘fresh blood’ find its way in… or will they strike out to establish their own place to-be-seen on the web? TBD…