Once, in the startup days of Facebook and heydays of less-prominent social networking sites (Friendster, hi5, Nexopia), there was one website that boasting the most potential. Myspace.

The idea was fresh: a place where emerging music talent could harbour a fan base, or where the average person could post about themselves and look at their friends profiles. It set out to reinvent the average person’s experience on the internet. So how did the website go from one of the most popular online destinations, to something most people would call obsolete? In the world of social media, consumer wants can be described as impulsive: people gravitate towards what’s new and exciting. Once rumoured to be valued in the billions of dollars, Myspace sold to new management for a mere $35 millon this past summer. Perhap Myspace got too comfortable around the height of their success in December of 2008 and gained a sense of overconfidence, maybe they weren’t quick enough or able to keep up with the rapidly growing power of Facebook since the end of 2008. In the end, maybe Myspace had a moment in time where they could’ve ruled the social media world, or maybe they were destined to fail. Either way, Facebook won.

Click here to read more about the Rise and Inglorious Fall of Myspace.