MySpace Going the Way of Friendster

The once-mighty social network is laying off half its staff. How could such a promising business turn sour so quickly?

Tweet

Back when I was writing about how the leading social network somehow crashed and burned, I couldn't imagine that it would happen again. Back then, I bemoaned the fact that Friendster didn't become MySpace. Well, three and a half years later, after a blockbuster acquisition and impressive profits, it looks like MySpace has become Friendster:

MySpace CEO Mike Jones today announced a "significant organizational restructuring that will result in a 47 percent staff reduction across all divisions globally and impact about 500 employees," confirming many rumors that the News Corp.-owned social network would be going through heavy layoffs before possibly seeking a new buyer.

Even more so than in 2007, social networking looks like a winner-take-all kind of business, and the $50 billion winner looks to be Facebook. For now.

Senior contributing writer Max Chafkin has profiled companies such as Yelp, Zappos, Twitter, Threadless, and Tesla for the magazine. He lives in Brooklyn, New York. @chafkin