UPDATED 15:09 EDT / JANUARY 16 2013

Breaking Analysis: Is the Facebook Fad Over and the MySpace Fad Resurging?

 

According to new data from social media monitoring company SocialBakers, the number of Americans using Facebook dropped by nearly 1.4 million in early December. What could be the cause of this fall off? SiliconANGLE Senior Managing Editor Kristen Nicole speculated that it could be anything from the holiday season, where people opted to spend more time with family and friends, to the fact that people simply became tired of the social, yet sometimes intrusive, site. She said others are migrating to different social sites, such as Google Plus or Tumblr.

Regarding whether users might return of their own accord or if they’ve been lost for good, Kristen Nicole referenced Facebook’s latest announcement of the graph search tool. She said, “They’re really looking to contextualize the experience [of search]. That alone may reel in some users they’ve lost in recent weeks.” She expanded on this by explaining that Facebook is really attempting to economize its platform and turn it into more of a service. She said if they’re able to successfully transition into the consumer services area, then this added value could keep users around longer than the has-been likes of Friendster and MySpace.

Speaking of MySpace, it has opened up a re-designed website to the public this week, but apparently this is not the official launch. The new site displays a picture of Justin Timberlake, one of its biggest investors, as well as an ad for his new single, “Suit and Tie,” featuring Jay-Z.  Kristen Nicole determined that “they’re really trying to focus on their roots as a music network,” but also said that this could just be another development from MySpace that fails to re-gain the user base it once had.

Kristen Nicole doesn’t see this MySpace pseudo-launch as any threat to Facebook, in terms of competition. If anything, she said that users are more likely to favor Facebook over MySpace, but that many people will maintain accounts on both. See the entire segment with Kristin Feledy and Kristen Nicole on the Morning NewsDesk Show.


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