Y2KSelfie.ai
A 23-part narrative series
The Complete History of MySpace: 2003–2026
One year per chapter, told in order, from a spare domain inside a marketing company to the most-visited site in America and back down again. Sourced from primary filings and contemporaneous reporting, written to be read straight through.
The timeline
- 2003How MySpace Was Born Inside eUniverse (And Why It Beat Friendster)Launch day on August 1, ColdFusion in ten days, HTML profiles by accident, and a default friend named Tom.
- 2004The Year MySpace Taught a Generation to CodeExplosive growth, the layout-site economy, music as a second network, and a college directory nobody was watching yet.
- 2005Rupert Murdoch’s $580M Gamble — The Deal That Changed EverythingNews Corporation acquires Intermix Media, MySpace joins Fox Interactive Media, and nothing visibly changes.
- 2006The Summer MySpace Passed Google50 million U.S. visitors in a single month, the Google advertising agreement, and the moment MySpace became the most-visited site in America.
- 2007Inside the Google Search Deal — The $800M YearRevenue at scale, MySpace TV against YouTube, and the two structural bets Facebook made that MySpace did not.
- 2008Peak Traffic — And Then Facebook Started WinningThe high-water mark at around 115 million monthly visitors, the global crossover, and a redesign the architecture would not allow.
- 2009The Month Facebook Overtakes MySpace in the U.S.The domestic crossover, Owen Van Natta’s arrival, 30 percent layoffs, and the departure of both founders.
- 2010The Rebrand, and Tom Steps BackMy_____, a repositioning toward social entertainment, and the removal of the most distinctive onboarding experience in software history.
- 2011The $35M Fire Sale to Specific MediaNews Corp sells at six cents on the dollar, Justin Timberlake takes a stake, and the Vanderhook brothers begin fifteen years of ownership.
- 2012The Horizontal UI PreviewA teaser video, a genuinely modern card-based redesign, and the deletion of the one feature nobody had ever copied.
- 2013The New MySpace Launches — And Old Blogs VanishA relaunch timed to Suit & Tie, a competent modern product, and years of user writing that did not survive the migration.
- 2014A Ghost Town That Artists Still UsedNetwork value collapses, archival value appreciates, and MySpace outlives every social network of its generation.
- 2015Resurrect Your Old Profile — The Nostalgia PlayMySpace reopens its pre-2013 archive, proves the demand is real, and discovers the ceiling on nostalgia.
- 2016Bought for Its Data — And Then the Password LeakTime Inc. acquires Viant for its identity graph, and MySpace discloses a credential breach affecting some 360 million accounts.
- 2017After the Breach — Cleaning Up and Doubling Down on MusicCredential hardening, a narrowed music focus, and a parent company quietly heading toward its own sale.
- 2018MySpace as a Data Asset Inside a PublisherMeredith completes the Time Inc. acquisition, MySpace changes hands for the fifth time, and the Vanderhooks buy it back.
- 2019The Server Migration DisasterA faulty migration destroys more than 50 million tracks from 14 million artists, uploaded between 2003 and 2015.
- 2020The Quiet Years BeginA global surge in demand for online social connection arrives, and MySpace captures none of it.
- 2021Nostalgia Without a ProductY2K aesthetics return in force on other people’s apps, and Viant lists on Nasdaq.
- 2022Holding PatternMySpace does nothing while the incumbent platforms teach a very large audience to articulate what they dislike.
- 2023Twenty Years LaterThe twentieth anniversary of launch day, a day of free attention, and the questions MySpace raised first.
- 2024The Slow Build Toward a ComebackNo launch and no roadmap — but a change in tone from owners who had said nothing for a decade.
- 2025The Documentarian’s LensA documentary goes into production, the Vanderhooks talk on camera, and “less algorithmic” enters the record.
- 2026MySpace 2.0? What We Know So FarAn announced intention with no date, four problems a credible relaunch has to solve, and the one asset nobody else has.
Start here
How MySpace Was Born Inside eUniverse (And Why It Beat Friendster)
Launch day on August 1, ColdFusion in ten days, HTML profiles by accident, and a default friend named Tom.
The Year MySpace Taught a Generation to Code
Explosive growth, the layout-site economy, music as a second network, and a college directory nobody was watching yet.
Rupert Murdoch’s $580M Gamble — The Deal That Changed Everything
News Corporation acquires Intermix Media, MySpace joins Fox Interactive Media, and nothing visibly changes.
The Summer MySpace Passed Google
50 million U.S. visitors in a single month, the Google advertising agreement, and the moment MySpace became the most-visited site in America.
Inside the Google Search Deal — The $800M Year
Revenue at scale, MySpace TV against YouTube, and the two structural bets Facebook made that MySpace did not.
Peak Traffic — And Then Facebook Started Winning
The high-water mark at around 115 million monthly visitors, the global crossover, and a redesign the architecture would not allow.
The Month Facebook Overtakes MySpace in the U.S.
The domestic crossover, Owen Van Natta’s arrival, 30 percent layoffs, and the departure of both founders.
The Rebrand, and Tom Steps Back
My_____, a repositioning toward social entertainment, and the removal of the most distinctive onboarding experience in software history.
The $35M Fire Sale to Specific Media
News Corp sells at six cents on the dollar, Justin Timberlake takes a stake, and the Vanderhook brothers begin fifteen years of ownership.
The Horizontal UI Preview
A teaser video, a genuinely modern card-based redesign, and the deletion of the one feature nobody had ever copied.
The New MySpace Launches — And Old Blogs Vanish
A relaunch timed to Suit & Tie, a competent modern product, and years of user writing that did not survive the migration.
A Ghost Town That Artists Still Used
Network value collapses, archival value appreciates, and MySpace outlives every social network of its generation.
Resurrect Your Old Profile — The Nostalgia Play
MySpace reopens its pre-2013 archive, proves the demand is real, and discovers the ceiling on nostalgia.
Bought for Its Data — And Then the Password Leak
Time Inc. acquires Viant for its identity graph, and MySpace discloses a credential breach affecting some 360 million accounts.
After the Breach — Cleaning Up and Doubling Down on Music
Credential hardening, a narrowed music focus, and a parent company quietly heading toward its own sale.
MySpace as a Data Asset Inside a Publisher
Meredith completes the Time Inc. acquisition, MySpace changes hands for the fifth time, and the Vanderhooks buy it back.
The Server Migration Disaster
A faulty migration destroys more than 50 million tracks from 14 million artists, uploaded between 2003 and 2015.
The Quiet Years Begin
A global surge in demand for online social connection arrives, and MySpace captures none of it.
Nostalgia Without a Product
Y2K aesthetics return in force on other people’s apps, and Viant lists on Nasdaq.
Holding Pattern
MySpace does nothing while the incumbent platforms teach a very large audience to articulate what they dislike.
Twenty Years Later
The twentieth anniversary of launch day, a day of free attention, and the questions MySpace raised first.
The Slow Build Toward a Comeback
No launch and no roadmap — but a change in tone from owners who had said nothing for a decade.
The Documentarian’s Lens
A documentary goes into production, the Vanderhooks talk on camera, and “less algorithmic” enters the record.
MySpace 2.0? What We Know So Far
An announced intention with no date, four problems a credible relaunch has to solve, and the one asset nobody else has.
Frequently asked
When was MySpace launched?
MySpace launched publicly on August 1, 2003, built inside the internet marketing company eUniverse by Tom Anderson, Chris DeWolfe and Jon Hart.
Who founded MySpace?
Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe are the credited co-founders, with Jon Hart on the original build and eUniverse founder Brad Greenspan backing the project internally.
How much did News Corporation pay for MySpace?
News Corporation acquired Intermix Media, MySpace parent company, for roughly $580 million in a deal announced on July 18, 2005.
Why did MySpace lose to Facebook?
The short answer is incentives. After 2005 MySpace was owned by a company that monetized attention quarter by quarter, while Facebook kept investing in the product, its infrastructure and its platform.