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MySpace spreads in new directions to stay ahead of Facebook
The world's largest social networking site, MySpace, has grown far past being merely "a place for friends." In addition to having 110 million active users, a year-old MySpace TV video site and localized portals in 24 counties, the four-year-old online company is creating original content that could widen its impact and visitor traffic. MySpace now has a music label that signs emerging artists, forms partnerships with amateur filmmakers and develops video serials. Another fresh feature launched last month is MySpace Celebrity, a content guide described as "Hollywood's new homepage." It features news, gossip from People magazine's site, blogs, videos and an index of more than 300 legitimate celebs with profiles on MySpace -- such as Ashton Kutcher, Britney Spears, Leonardo DiCaprio, Paris Hilton and Vince Vaughn. "We want MySpace users to connect with celebrities in the same way that they do with musicians," says co-founder Tom Anderson. This week, the young company with young leaders started inviting outside software developers to create and test applications -- also called widgets -- that will let members jazz up MySpace pages. It's a response to the growth that rival Facebook has experienced with that "open-source" approach.
Front Page Talking Points is written by
Felix Grabowski and Alan Stamm for NIEonline.com, Copyright 2013
We welcome comments or suggestions for future topics: Click here to Comment Front Page Talking Points Archive►Fresh population figures show the changing face of America ►U.S. scrutiny of online communication and calls stirs debate over snooping vs. security ►Facebook draws the line: Hateful, nasty posts about women are out of bounds ►Summer brings movie lineup of superheroes, zombies, sci-fi and comedies ►Federal safety board urges tougher drinking-and-driving cutoff limit to match other nations ►Northeast braces for noisy invasion: Flying cicada bugs return after hiding for 17 years ►U.S. military prison at Guantanamo, Cuba, remains a tricky problem for President Obama ►Doctors warn about serious health risks from 'The Cinnamon Challenge' video craze ►Earth Day on April 22 focuses attention on how we can protect the natural environment ►Thousands of past players take on the National Football League over brain injuries |
Newspapers' online sites include social network-style exchanges of views and criticisms in reader forums, comment sections at the end of articles and guest opinion columns. Ask students if they read these or ever contribute thoughts. How do such interactions strengthen a sense of community?
Although they're not personal friends, as on a social network, columnists, reviewers, editorial cartoonists and news bloggers often have a "voice" we recognize, respect and respond to. Ask for examples of favorite writers and features. 
News about the Internet and other consumer technology appears in various sections, including those about business and lifestyle. Send class members on a search for coverage of interest in this area, or a report on any topic with ways to see or hear more online.
Daily visitors: MySpace has more page views than any other Web site in the world -- more than 1.3 billion a day -- although that figure dipped for the first time in December 2007.