MySpace is the 6th most popular website in the world. It is the largest social network, and has millions and millions of users. It was just reported that its most recent advertising revenues exceeded 25 million dollars! Despite all those impressive statistics, I’ve never really been a fan on the site. However, if the site made these five little improvements, I would be converted. Forever.
1. Allow users import their gmail and hotmail contact lists, automatically adding friends that are already members and future members if they ever sign up… but never send out annoying “invitation” messages to them.
Apparently this service already exists, but I have been trying for the last few months to get it to work and I cannot. It really bothers me. I’ve tried Firefox, Internet Explorer, my hotmail account, my gmail account… I tried taking the special characters out of my passwords. I emailed MySpace several times and got no response. Nothing. It doesn’t work, and therefore does not exist.
Why is this such an important feature? Because MySpace is cliquey, and I feel like a big loser with my 23 friends. If I could import my address book I would have substantially more. Ha ha, if you are reading this and feel like upping my friend count, feel free to add me.
2. Create a new service I call “bridging”.
There are way too many social networks to keep track of. MySpace, FaceBook, blah blah blah. If MySpace wants to dominate the world even more, it should become the MeeBo of social networks. Let me “brdige” my MySpace and FaceBook. Make it really easy to harvest add my friends and feel more popular. Better yet, let me interact with my FaceBook friends through MySpace. Hey MySpace – check this out. FaceBook Developers are now letting you do some fancy API stuff.
3. Censorship
The primary reason MySpace really bothers me is that way too many of the profiles are tacky. Egregiously tacky. I’m a big fan of simple, consistent, elegant layouts (which is why I use FaceBook). I understand that the whole point of MySpace is to let people have their own space, but please – everyone has the right to be free from cruel and unusual treatment or punishment. Sometimes, when I am bombarded by people’s tacky profiles, I feel that my rights are infringed upon. Ha ha, I’m being a little facetious, but please give me the option of having a standard template that I can apply to everyone’s profiles so I do not have to be reminded of the Internet in 1994.
4. Mute
When I’m creeping for new friends, I like to open multiple profiles… but then I get this horrible churning sound as many songs are conglomerated into one terrible mess. And my computer gets slow and makes all sorts of whirling sounds. Give me the option to have all of those little sound players be muted by default. This should apply to videos as well.
5. Friend Finder
Sometimes, I just want new friends… but I’m just too lazy to find them. I think a revolutionary service MySpace could provide would be some sort of friend finding service. I type in my personality characteristics, what I like to do, where I live, the kind of person I would like to meet… and it links me up with the people I am looking for. It could even give me a computability measure. Hey Jeremy, Person X is 92% compatible! When new members join, it automatically searches for compatible people and sends them (and me) a little note. “You have a potential friend!” Fantastic! Sign me up!
