No space for MySpace

Hollywood screenwriter William Goldman once famously remarked about the entertainment industry: “Nobody knows anything.” It turns out the axiom applies to the Internet, as well. The brief history of the World Wide Web—and mankind’s valiant efforts to wring profits out of same—is replete with confirming evidence of Goldman’s axiom, a kind of unified field theory of cluelessness that has yet to be disproved...

The latest proof of Goldman’s axiom is the sad story of MySpace. In 2005, it was acclaimed as the planet’s hottest social-networking site. Today it is widely considered an ailing property, having slashed overhead to confront the new reality in which it will no longer have Google to prop up cash flow: The search giant is pulling the plug on a reported $300 million in annual payments for the privilege of using MySpace as an advertising platform.

- Lloyd Grove, 'How MySpace Blew It'.

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