Only two years since its creation, MySpace.com has grown to surpass Google.com as the Neilsen/NetRatings’ No. 13 most visited Web site in the world.
MySpace receives more than two and a half times as many hits as Google.com. With more than 50 million users, according to founders Chris DeWolfe, 39, and Tom Anderson, 29, it has eclipsed every other social networking site including Friendster and Facebook.
According to Nielsen/NetRatings, the site received 32.2 million unique visitors last month.
“Unique audience includes anyone who went to the site within the reporting period, in this case the month of February, at least once,” said Suzy Bausch, press contact for Nielsen/NetRatings. “Anyone who went more than once during the month was not counted again.”
Out of MySpace’s 32.2 million unique visitors, 170,000 were people creating a new account.
“Compared to Facebook, MySpace is better. You can be more individualistic. You can add music and video,” said Caleb Crawford, political science freshman and MySpace member.
Crawford referred to the ability MySpace users have to create their own profiles, including the ability to add movies, blogs and music to a home page.
Stephen Fakier, general studies senior, agreed with Crawford and said the Web site allows the user to express more of their personality than Facebook.
“You can set the background and the color of your boxes,” Fakier said. “There are more people on it that aren’t just in college.”
Bands have taken advantage of MySpace’s freedom by putting their music on the Internet and keeping in touch with their fan base.
Terror of the Sea, a local band, uses MySpace to promote their new album and offer their fans a sneak peak at new songs, said Brett Jones, Terror of the Sea’s lead singer and English sophomore.
“It’s the easiest free way for people to hear our music,” Jones said. “Lots of people have come to our shows because they say they heard us on MySpace. Every show we’ve ever booked has been through MySpace.”
Jill Gautreaux, costal biology junior, said she signed up for MySpace as opposed to Facebook for a similar reason.
“I picked up on the music aspect [of MySpace],” Gautreaux said. “You can listen to music and see shows. And it’s not limited to colleges.”
Gautreaux explained the site does not limit users to befriending students at the college same college which they attend, which allows her to make anyone a friend.
Angie Hughes, English junior, agreed with the ease of communication.
“It’s an easier way to keep in touch with everyone,” Hughes said. “You have to skip ads when you log on, but it’s nothing too annoying, not like AOL.”
In 2005, Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation bought MySpace along with 30 other Internix Web sites for $580 million. Murdoch’s company added advertisements and launched a MySpace record label to accommodate the music on the site.
Since the acquisition, an analyst for Vanity Fair estimated in its March 2006 issue that MySpace’s net profits for 2005 were $30 to $40 million, and said the number may triple in 2006.
Murdoch, owner of Fox News, had his own explanation for the success of the social-networking site.
“Young people don’t want to rely on a God-like figure from above to tell them what’s important,” Murdoch told the BBC News Service on July 19. “They want control over their media instead of being controlled by it. They want to question, to probe, to offer a different angle.”
But with the increasing popularity of MySpace, some people are worried about the safety of the 19 percent of users under the age of 17.
On March 6, police captured two adult men sexually assaulting a minor from Connecticut who they met through MySpace.
Twenty students were suspended in February from TeWinkel Middle School in Costa Mesa, Cali., for participating in a MySpace group where one student threatened to kill another. The students could face criminal charges, according to a March 9 USA Today article.
MySpace announced plans to increase the site’s safety for their younger users. According to The Buffalo News in New York, MySpace will appoint a safety czar to oversee the site.
MySpace also announced the possibility of launching a campaign to educate users on Internet safety, restricting access to certain groups on the site to people younger than 18 and developing search matrices to make it harder for predators to find young teens.
At the University, some students are more concerned about the safety of younger users than their own.
Fakier expressed his concerns about sexual predators, but he also said parents should be more aware of their children’s Internet activities.
Both Gautreaux and Fakier agreed that increased restrictions and regulations would improve the site.
In the meantime, Crawford said he isn’t concerned about his safety on MySpace.
“MySpace allows for protection … you can control who looks at your profile,” Crawford said. “It’s just a great place for communication.”
 
Contact Lauren Myerscough at
lmyerscough@lsureveille.com