Today is a big day for the social media world because not only is there a Facebook event in a few hours but also the launch of the New MySpace has recently happened. We thought we would log in and see what all the fuss was about now that the service is finally out of beta and open to the public. However, it wasn’t as simple as that because it has been so long that we were met with the dreaded message asking if we had forgot our MySpace password, and we bet we’re not the only ones?

The new MySpace has been in beta since July and just recently saw its public launch and as you would imagine Justin Timberlake is doing all he can to promote the social network that was much bigger than Facebook a few years back. It’s also a return to the music business for JT, as he is promoting the launch of the new look MySpace with advertising for his latest song titled “Suit & Tie,” which also has the talents of Jay Z.

The URL has changed but all you need to do is still type myspace.com and you’ll be redirected and for those who have forgotten their original log in, you’ll be happy to know that you can also access your account with your Facebook or Twitter accounts as well. However, you could always start up a new account, which will be ideal for those looking for a new beginning, just like MySpace itself.

It’s clear to see that MySpace is sticking with the music theme because when logged in you’ll notice an audio deck at the bottom of the page, making it easy to even add songs to your queue. According to a recent article they were unsure as to how long the New MySpace has been live because the social media service has yet to make any formal announcement, but we assume that it happened yesterday.

This time five years ago, MySpace was the most popular social network in the US. It continued to be right up until 2008 when Facebook finally over took it in terms of unique monthly visitors. Since then MySpace’s visitors have continued to decline and last month’s results saw the site ranked eightieth most visited with 19.7 million visitors compared to Facebook’s 140 million.

Today we have news that the singer and actor Justin Timberlake has invested in a share in the struggling social network, which went up for sale for $35 million. As the article at Guardian explains, Timberlake is one of a group of investors, however he is said to be playing a ‘major role’ in the way MySpace is moving on.

Although his experience when it comes to social networking and running an online business seems only to extend as far as playing a part in the recent hit movie The Social Network, in which he played the role of Facebook investor Sean Parker, it appears that he is now taken his role on for real with the investment and will also gain a share with Specific Media, the online advertising company.

According to Tim Vangerhook, Specific Media Chief Executive who announced the deal last night, Timberlake will ‘lead the business strategy.’ The low $35 million price tag is but a fraction of what the site was once worth, but since its 2008 dethroning the site has been drowning and this therefore is there forced lifeline.

It is also reported that News Corp, the original MySpace investors who bought the site for $580 million back in 2005, will continue to have a minority stake in the social network after being forced to sell shares. Check out the full article at Guardian for more details about how much MySpace was once worth in its peak days.

What do you think of the investment from the singer and actor? Do you think MySpace could make a comeback and regain its throne?

Matthew Garrahan from FT.com explains that this move has been done to help save money for the company, which they hope will make it more appealing to a buyer. Currently News Corp owns MySpace, which as we know has not been too happy with the results so far. We can certainly understand why, as the company paid a small fortune to acquire MySpace.

BBC News has spoken to MySpace’s chief executive, Mike Jones, where he has been trying to alleviate user’s fears by saying that the service itself will not be affected in any way by these job cuts – try telling that to the 500 employees and their families.

I can remember five years ago when MySpace was big business in social networking, it just shows how fast this market is moving. It is no secret that Facebook has had a huge influence on the outcome of MySpace. I do not wish to get too personal, but maybe they should have read the book “Who Moved My Cheese”.

Do you work for MySpace; is your job safe?

1. Using your Facebook to promote yourself – This is aimed more at business’, artists and alike. If you just use your Facebook to get your name out there, you may find yourself on the receiving end of backlash. No one likes a page that drives them nuts about your new song or new application every second of the day. Use it wisely, or at least more personal.

2. Living your whole life on Facebook – Facebook is not a soap opera. Remember that. Some people may not want to see a minute-by-minute rundown of your daily routine, it’s just too much. I’m sure that ‘Bob White’ does not care that you are drinking Mountain Dew because you are thirsty. Stop being so personal.

3. Drunken messages, comments, and wall posts – We have all been there. We have a few drinks and get the smartphone out. Drunk-texts are so last year, so remember the feeling you got when you woke up in the morning with that hangover and realised you left some comments you shouldn’t have? Yes, so try your best to not to make yourself look like a complete idiot.

4. Scams – Facebook is full of them. Old accounts hacked, people asking you to wire them money, you give in and bam. You’ve been had. It is something that can easily be avoided with common sense.

5. Dramas, fights and cyber arguments – This is becoming common place in the Facebook world. Heck, it has been around forever since the invention of article comments and blogs. We all have our hates, but just try and leave these gripes at the door. It’s not pretty to see, especially from a potential employer or bosses perspective.

6. Clicking fake virus/malware links – Another flaw that Facebook users tend to fall for more than they should. Links about Justin Bieber, naked girls, and little people killing themselves on halloween are fake. Don’t click them. Simple as that.

7. Using “free” WiFi hotspots – Constantly searching around for free web access can be a little frustrating at times, but if it is just for surfing Facebook, that may be a little desperate. There is no knowing if that hotspot is free, and even if it is, it might just be there to steal your personal data. There are numerous ways this can be avoided, so make sure you check out the web for some of the best plugins and apps that can help you fight this.

8. Friend requesting people because they look hot – Personally, I have never done this. Imagine when you first speak to the person. You would have to explain that you are not a stalker, and think of a valid reason why you added them in the first place. Saying “I thought your profile picture was hot” can be a little awkward which can promptly result in being blocked and ignored. It’s not cool, ladies and gents.

9. Clicking adverts – Especially inside of Facebook games. You never know what these adverts really are, and could all be part of a plan to get you into their scamming techniques. You have been warned.

10. Not configuring Facebook’s privacy settings – This is almost a sin. When I first found out about Facebook’s privacy settings, I changed mine to fit my needs almost straight away. There are options to be almost undiscoverable to the entire Facebook population or open to the whole world. I don’t advise the latter, but some sort of customization should be able to fit your needs. If you haven’t done so already, I recommend you do it now.

Can you think of other frequently made mistakes, Facebook users?

Source: PC World

According to Sharon Gaudin from Computer World, both social networking sites has introduced what they call a “Mashup”, which sees both sites porting over their likes and interests. This will then be shown on MySpace pages, which is part of the new features for the late part of 2010.

Gaudin points to the fact that MySpace has now given up on the idea that they are still a social network, not sure if investors will want to hear this, as they were put on notice earlier this month? They were told that they need to make changes, or they will pull the plug.

MySpace was once the most popular social networking site on the Internet, how times have changed in a small amount of time. MySpace could have only dreamed of having over 500 million users, something that was achieved by Facebook a few months back now.

MySpace is still popular in the U.S., but that popularity is not shared by others around the world. In April of this year MySpace had just 123 million unique visitors compared to 307 million for Facebook.

According to an article on The Telegraph, MySpace lost $126 million in September 2009 and $156 million in the same period this year, this shows that the site has a lot of work ahead if they stand any hope of pleasing investors.

According to many media outlets, Facebook and MySpace have both sent out invitations to a webcast that will take place at 12PM Pacific time, with Facebook Vice President of Partnerships and Platform Marketing Dan Rose and MySpace CEO Mike Jones on hand to tell us the big news — whatever that may be.

As Mark Zuckerberg will not be on show, it is very doubtful that the two are making a merger announcement, but if that is not the reason then what could it be?

Many think that MySpace will adopt the Facebook Connect format, so that you will be able to connect both accounts up together, meaning that you can log into MySpace with your Facebook ID.

Don’t disregard the possibility of a merger though, which seems highly unlikely, but we will give you an update when the meeting is all said and done.

What do you think it could be?

Source: PC World

The reason for the urgency to improve things is due to the $156 million loss for News Corp for their digital and other activities side of the business. This is certainly a sad time for MySpace, which once was a popular destination for millions of people around the world.

The biggest issue for MySpace was due to the fact that users were jumping ship and making the move to Facebook, which had many more features to offer. The troubling thing is, even with all the news of the revamp, things are still going south.

According to an article on cmumusicnews, New Corp investors are not happy that MySpace is a huge issue; the social networking website has been told that they need to get things back on track, or they will pull the plug.

What are your thoughts if MySpace is shut down?

We already know that Ping has been riddled with spam messages that are linked to scams, viruses and malware, therefore it is far from perfect, so how would you change it?

Obviously making it as secure as possible has to be a huge priority, therefore a better message filtering service has to be put in place, but what further functionality would make Ping a serious alternative to the many music-centric social networking services out there?

For me there are two major front runners out there, MySpace and Spotify, both are great in different ways. MySpace in my opinion is much better for keeping in track with artists and seeing which artists your friends are fans of, one downfall is that it is web-based and has been linked to scams and viruses etc.

Spotify offers great playlist sharing capabilities, the social networking side of things is a lot less prominent, which is great for people who just want an easy way to discover new music.

For me there are lots of different directions Ping could take, should it neglect the social networking side of things a bit and become a direct competitor to Spotify? Or should it concentrate on the social networking side of things and become a Spotify/MySpace hybrid?

We would love your ideas, such as new features etc, feel free to share them in the comments section below.