Main Accounts: The Story of MySpace
Main Accounts: The Story of MySpace
Playlist by Main Accounts: The Story of MySpace
MySpace was the first major social media company. And it was the first major social media company to collapse. But what happened on MySpace would have broad implications for all the platforms to follo…Follow the podcast:
11 clip(s) in playlist
8. MySpace Forever
In April 2023, Joanne did something she hadn't tried in well over a decade — she logged into her MySpace account. For our season finale, she set out to find the people who still use MySpace to this day. She reviews the factors that contributed to MySpace’s demise, and looks at what we lost when the…
31:28
7. MySecurity
"If you open a hole on the internet," UCLA professor Sarah T. Roberts tells us, "it gets filled with sh*t." The tragic death of Megan Meier was a turning point for MySpace. As the first social media company to operate on a massive scale, MySpace and its users were forced to grapple with the conse…
39:38
Bonus: Tina Meier (Full Interview)
Our last episode featured the tragic death of Megan Meier, which became the biggest scandal MySpace would ever face. In this bonus episode, Joanne wanted to share our full interview with Megan's mother, Tina. Tina told us more about Megan's life, the trial, and the work of the Megan Meier Foundatio…
1:16:53Explicit
6. Megan's Story
The moral panic over online predators on MySpace was largely overblown, but there was some truth to these concerns. These stories ended up on the nightly news and further stoked people’s fears about who was actually behind MySpace profiles. And one story — the biggest scandal MySpace had faced yet …
32:12Explicit
Bonus: The Jason Scott MySpace Story
We first reached out to digital archivist Jason Scott in episode five about the MySpace data loss. It turns out Jason had a lot more to say about his place in MySpace history that didn't make it into that episode.
08:54
5. My Music
MySpace forever changed the way we listen to music. The social network shifted artists' relationships with their fans, and the site helped launch the careers of many huge stars, from Panic! At The Disco to Adele. What made MySpace such an influential platform for musicians? And why did all the mus…
24:13
4. Scene Kids
MySpace amplified the ongoing moral panic around teenagers on the internet. For young MySpace users, many of the trials of teenhood were transposed from the locker rooms, lunchrooms, and high school corridors to the realm of testimonials and Top 8. But was it really worse than any reality that teen…
32:14
3. MySpace Famous
In this episode, Joanne delves into how MySpace—like reality TV—became a vehicle for celebrity in the aughts, and gave way to the culture of influencers. She catches up with people who built a fan base on the platform. Special thanks to our guests Bridget Todd (host of There Are No Girls on the I…
30:42
2. Dialed Up
Let’s look back at the internet communities that were thriving before MySpace — even before Friendster. Why did MySpace get ahead when there was strong competition from other social networks at the time? To explore the earliest days of social media, Joanne is joined by investor and entrepreneur B…
31:14Clean
1. Welcome to MySpace
The MySpace era was incredibly influential, and incredibly messy. And it remains largely underexplored. Young people talk about MySpace like a cool scene they wish they could have experienced. Like CBGB, or Studio 54. But before we get into the experiences that users had — from bored teens to up-a…
30:24