Can MySpace really pull off a re-launch?

News Corp is attempting to re-launch its ailing social network MySpace. After a management shake-up and brand rethink, can it be done?

A re-launch is about to happen which MySpace execs hope will claw back some of the ground the site has lost to Facebook in the last two years, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

MySpace co-president Mike Jones said: “I know that when that relaunch comes I’ve got a great product, I’ve got a global audience that at one point used MySpace… I think I can make the old new again for them.”

There is one clear fact that is on the side of News Corp – eight in ten Brits use and are a member of one or more social networks. In the US, the percentage of Americans age 12 and older who have a profile on one or more social networking sites has reached almost half (48%) of the population in 2010. And in Asia-Pacific, social networking penetration has reach 90%.

However, when it comes to social networks, Facebook is king with more than 400 million users worldwide. MySpace memberships sit at around 200 million – but the site has been going much longer.

The social media space is somewhat dominated by Facebook. It has almost forced FreindsReunited out of the market and this week we heard that Bebo is to shut down due to declining numbers.

MySpace is up against a fierce competitor. But then again, it has one of the most powerful media moguls on its side – Rupert Murdoch.

Earlier this year I saw the Adam Sandler film Funny People. MySpace also starred and I thought to myself, ‘How did MySpace score that gig?’ Easy, Murdoch owns 2oth Century Fox, the film studio which produced it.

Murdoch and his companies own more media (that’s everything from newspapers, TV, digital and film studios) than any other company in the world. If it was down to advertising, product placement and promotion than he would have this MySpace business sorted.

But will it be enough? Why did people quit MySpace in the first place? Was it a fad?

It may have something to do with the fact that MySpace is a social network for a niche. It’s members use it to promote their music, not necessarily keep in touch with friends.

Can MySpace and Facebook live together in perfect harmony? Of course. But Murdoch has to first realise he can’t be the best at everything and perhaps sometimes, having a niche is more important than being mass market.