Even though Facebook, Twitter, and Google have dominated the headlines, MySpace has not stopped putting in work. They have been in the lab working on their product as well as acquiring new talent for their team. Last night, MySpace vice president of online marketing Sean Percival tweeted about “clean new profiles” that are starting to pop up around MySpace. Hours later, MySpace confirmed that they were testing a new profile design:
“We’re testing a new look and feel of our site among users and the response so far has been positive,” …”As always, we’re interested in hearing feedback from our community as we roll out enhancements to the user experience and look forward to sharing more details with you in the coming weeks.”
These profiles are rolling out out slowly, so you may not see yours yet (I know mine hasn’t been updated). Here are some details about the new design pointed out by Mashable:
- A new left-hand navigation: Profile navigation has been condensed into the left hand navigation menu under the profile picture.
- Focus on the stream: MySpace Stream — the site’s version of the Facebook newsfeed — is the focus of the the new profiles. You can view a user’s recent activity, comment on items and share content with friends.
- Follow on other social networks: There’s a new module giving you the option to follow a user not only on MySpace, but also on Twitter, Facebook and other social networks. Whether this is a standard module remains to be seen.
- A vastly improved UI: Without a doubt, the new profiles feature better design than their predecessors, which have been the scourge of social web app designers for a few years now.
Reactions are mixed so far, but that’s always the case when a site does a complete redesign. Especially when it involves personal profiles, which MySpace has always been known for. Their glitter graphics and raining hearts have been both a blessing and a curse.
On a related note, MySpace has also acquired the team and assets of Threadbox, the social media service that aims to kill your email. Threadbox is focused on making communications and collaboration easier. Methods for communication on MySpace are somewhat scattered and Threadbox might just be the technology they need to tighten things up. According to a representative from MySpace:
“We’re thrilled to announce that the talented Threadbox team has joined MySpace. We’re in active discussions about how we can incorporate their innovative technology into our site.”
Not only is Threadbox a powerful collaboration tool on its own, but it’s also helps you pull your social media world together by integrating into your email, Gmail, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts. With a new visual interface and some work on the back-end with the Threadbox team, MySpace might be on its way back.