I had the opportunity to ask this question only recently during a Creative Strategy and Execution class and I honestly believe that Yes it Can. I realize that Myspace has encountered massive criticisms...in fact, I am guilty of offering those criticisms myself. However, I am convinced that most of the problems have been due to a lack of vision...a clear cut vision that is driven by a target market. Now, you may be wondering what does this have to do with writing and the truth is that it has everything to do with writing. A good writer will be able to read something and determine whether the message is clear, concise and to the point. A good writer will be able to tell if the message is appealing or if it wasted words. A good writer will know when to say nothing at all.
One of my favorite quotes is "Vision without action is Fantasy but Action without Vision is Drudgery" (author unknown). I mention this quote because as I stared into the media abyss of Myspace I noticed there was absolutely no method to this madness. I could not determine the theme of the entire website other than the fact it gave me a headache just looking at it. So, I did some research and looked up the vision statement created by the administrators of Myspace. According to the website:
Myspace LLC is a leading social entertainment destination powered by the passions of fans. Aimed at a Gen Y audience, Myspace drives social interaction by providing a highly personalized experience around entertainment and connecting people to the music, celebrities, TV, movies, and games that they love. These entertainment experiences are available through multiple platforms, including online, mobile devices, and offline events.
Myspace is also the home of Myspace Music, which offers an ever-growing catalog of freely streamable audio and video content to users and provides major, independent, and unsigned artists alike with the tools to reach new audiences. The company is headquartered in Beverly Hills, CA and is a subsidiary of Specific Media. (www.myspace.com)
Is it well written? Yes, it is. It describes exactly what and whom drives this social networking website and the many ways it accomplishes this. However, writing well is not enough. A company must offer its users exactly what it wants. The fact that so many users abandoned Myspace is a clear indication that it was not accomplishing this task. Now what? you ask.. Research. After that... well let's create a story. Yes, I said story. Let us create a fictional character that could represent an actual Myspace user and see what he can teach us.
Let's Meet Sean
Sean is a Myspace user. He is 20 years old and is a Hispanic
male. He enjoys all types of music including hip-hop, RnB, rock, alternative,
metal, salsa, merengue and some pop. He is a college student who lives with his
parents but is working to try to get his own place. He works part-time jobs
while going to school. He grew up in a household where music was a major part
of their everyday lives. For him, not a day passes where he’s not downloading
some music or walking down the street without his mp3 playing in his ears. When
he gets home he relaxes by switching channels between VH1, MTV, and BET. When
he hears a song he likes he’ll run straight to his computer and download it to
add to his enormous collection. He looks for websites that cater to his
interest such as entertainment websites and band pages. He’s pretty active on
the social websites as well. He has a Facebook account to keep in touch with
friends and family but will usually visit Myspace to connect to his favorite
artists. See, Sean is musically inclined and has seriously been thinking about
starting a band so he’s looking to make connections. Problem is it’s difficult
to get past all the advertising on Myspace to get the help he needs and not to
mention there seems to be more attention on already popular artists than those
who need some kind of breakthrough. Don’t get him wrong, Sean loves the idea
that he can see what his favorite artists are up to and really likes the live
streaming of concerts and music related shows. He easily gets hooked on the
games too. Yet, Sean gets frustrated when he has to click through numerous
pages just to get to the screen he wants. So, if he did decide to start a band
it does not look like Myspace would be able to help him unless he sent
unsolicited emails and spammed anyone who would listen. Unfortunately, Sean has
been the recipient of enough spam to know what a turn off it is…even to those
who love music as much as he does.So,
Sean clicks off of Myspace and decides his next best option, if he was to get
his band together, is upload the band’s performance to YouTube and attach it to
all the social networking sites in hopes someone will listen. Sean now has to
figure out how to connect to other local artists that may want to join a band
but where does he start?
Sean suddenly remembers seeing some news article that said
Myspace was just bought out by a company whose name he can’t remember and
Justin Timberlake. Cool! Maybe now that an artist is in charge he’ll be able to
make some positive changes.
As you can see, while this story should be brief, if written well, can offer insight into the target audience's likes and dislikes as well as their habits and lifestyle...an invaluable tool when trying to re-energize or reposition a brand. So the next time you come across a company that has lost the interest of its audiences see if you can figure out what they may be missing by writing a story that captures the lifestyles of its target market. You may be surprised by what you discover!
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