Facebook Just 'Flavor of the Month': Murdoch

Despite missing revenue targets, Mashable scribe not afraid to 'wax poetic'

(NEWSER) - MySpace fell short of revenue targets in the most recent quarter, but, Adam Ostrow argues in Mashable, it’s still proven a phenomenal deal since Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. bought it for $580 million in 2005. Revenues from its unit are pulling close to its purchase price and it’s on track to make more with music downloads, sponsorships and targeted ads. More»

It could go for a relative pittance, thanks to Facebook

(AP) - News Corp. is hoping to part with struggling social network site MySpace this week, and will likely lay off more than half of the remaining staff of 500, according to a person familiar with the matter. The company is looking to cut a deal tomorrow or Thursday in order to have it completed this fiscal year, which ends Thursday. The All Things D site reported that MySpace was on the verge of being sold for $20 million to $30 million, but the AP source thinks the deal will be much higher and involve cash and stock. More»

MySpace can provide it, and Facebook is the platform

(NEWSER) - High-ranking executives at both Facebook and MySpace confirm that the companies are in talks over some sort of content partnership—a development that isn’t a big surprise to at least one observer. Formerly intense competitors in the social-networking sphere, Caroline McCarthy writes, now “Facebook’s the one providing the platform for the content; MySpace is the one providing the content itself.” More»

Failure to innovate halts site's once red-hot momentum, letting Facebook take the lead

(NEWSER) - MySpace was overtaken by Facebook for the first time last month and without some serious innovation, Rupert Murdoch's big buy may end up joining Friendster in the ranks of the also-rans, Dawn Chmielewski and David Sarno write in the Los Angeles Times. The world of social networking moves at an unforgiving pace, the two note, and MySpace has been playing catch-up instead of leading, as its own initiatives tanked. More»

(NEWSER) - News Corp. has hired former Facebook executive Owen Van Natta to run MySpace, the Wall Street Journal reports. The expected move may be announced as early as today. The hiring comes fast for MySpace, which announced Wednesday that current CEO Chris DeWolfe was stepping down, along with fellow co-founder Tom Anderson as president. More»