Myspace

A middle school principal in northeastern Pennsylvania was shocked to see his photo online along with a description of him as a "hairy sex addict" and a "pervert" who liked "hitting on students" in his office. A high school principal north of Pittsburgh saw a MySpace profile of himself that called him a "big fag," a "whore" and a drug user. And in West Virginia, a school principal found out that a girl had created an online site to maliciously mock another girl as a "slut" with herpes.

Facebook, following the lead of Twitter and Google+, is verifying user accounts and allowing for pseudonyms. But the verification and policy change on nicknames -- Facebook has previously mandated that users use their legal names -- won't be available to the general public. Instead, verified accounts are by invitation only and, for now, those invitations will go to celebrities and to users with a large number of subscribers. In an statement emailed to The Times on Thursday, Facebook described the move as "a minor update" to its Subscribe feature.

MySpace has identified and removed 90,000 registered sex offenders from its social networking site over the last two years, the Beverly Hills company confirmed Tuesday, nearly double the number previously acknowledged. About 50,000 sex offenders had been identified as using the popular site until the new numbers were released Tuesday, the attorneys general for Connecticut and North Carolina said in a statement.

Can MySpace become culturally relevant again? It's still too soon to tell, but Tim and Chris Vanderhook, the two young investors who bought the faded social networking site from News Corp. in June 2011 now have some semi-solid reason to hope. On Monday morning, MySpace announced that it had over 1 million new sign-ups in the last 30 days. The company also said MySpace.com is receiving an average of 40,000 new registrations daily. And more good news: Traffic to the site was up in January for the first time in a year, according to a report in the New York Times.

How did Justin Timberlake — who in last year's movie "The Social Network" portrayed a pivotal figure in the history of Facebook's phenomenal growth — wind up owning part of rival social network Myspace? It's all about connections. Nicole Winnaman, president and founder of entertainment branding firm Winnaman & Associates, learned a little more than two weeks ago that Irvine-based advertising network Specific Media was in talks to acquire Myspace from News Corp. The executive, who has paired musicians like Justin Bieber, Britney Spears and Pink with well-known consumer brands, approached Timberlake's manager with a proposal to take a stake in the struggling Myspace as part of the new owner's attempt to bring sexy back to the once-dominant social network.

Just a week after acquiring Myspace, Orange County brothers Tim and Chris Vanderhook strolled through the firm's Beverly Hills headquarters and settled into a corner office with a stunning view of the Hollywood Hills. It could not have been a better backdrop for the duo who see Myspace's future in Justin Timberlake, Hollywood producers and rock bands. "We are going to make Myspace cool again," said Tim, the chief executive of Specific Media. The little-known online advertising company from Irvine paid $35 million for Myspace, once the world's largest social network worth $65 billion.

Myspace was once the Internet's equivalent of the hottest nightclub in town. In its heyday, the world's dominant social network attracted some 3 million bands, 8,000 comedians and countless filmmakers and wannabes who came to see and be seen. Now, Myspace is seemingly no place — a digital castoff that corporate parent News Corp. sold for $35 million in cash and equity to an Orange County digital media firm specializing in online advertising. That's a fraction of the $580 million that the media giant controlled by Rupert Murdoch paid to acquire the site a scant six years ago, and well shy of its one-time $65-billion valuation.

Rupert Murdoch, the head of media giant News Corp., was brimming with confidence when his firm's Myspace was the reigning social networking site three years ago, noting it was "not just looking up friends," as rival Facebook was doing. Now Myspace could use some friends. Hobbled by dramatic declines in advertising revenue and monthly visitors, Myspace announced a sweeping restructuring Tuesday that will result in the loss of 500 jobs worldwide, or about 47% of the workforce at the Beverly Hills company.

Emphasizing a major shift in strategy, News Corp. all but conceded Wednesday that its once-dominant social network MySpace is no longer competitive with rival Facebook or micro-blogging service Twitter and will seek to rebuild the site around entertainment. News Corp. said MySpace -- whose 2005 acquisition was once considered so pivotal that it landed Chairman and Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch on the cover of Wired magazine -- has undergone layoffs and a massive restructuring but continues to lose revenue.

Myspace has kicked off what its new owners hope will be its comeback tour. The site's senior executives joined with creative partner Justin Timberlake in outlining plans Monday to return Myspace to its musical roots. Their presentation for top advertisers gathered at Radio City Music Hall in New York was followed by a VIP concert whose lineup included contemporary artists Far East Movement, Natasha Bedingfield and B.o.B. The splashy promotional affair came three months after Irvine advertising firm Specific Media bought Myspace for $35 million and touted Timberlake's ability to lend cachet to the once-dominant social network that long ago lost its magnetism.

A middle school principal in northeastern Pennsylvania was shocked to see his photo online along with a description of him as a "hairy sex addict" and a "pervert" who liked "hitting on students" in his office. A high school principal north of Pittsburgh saw a MySpace profile of himself that called him a "big fag," a "whore" and a drug user. And in West Virginia, a school principal found out that a girl had created an online site to maliciously mock another girl as a "slut" with herpes.

Myspace has kicked off what its new owners hope will be its comeback tour. The site's senior executives joined with creative partner Justin Timberlake in outlining plans Monday to return Myspace to its musical roots. Their presentation for top advertisers gathered at Radio City Music Hall in New York was followed by a VIP concert whose lineup included contemporary artists Far East Movement, Natasha Bedingfield and B.o.B. The splashy promotional affair came three months after Irvine advertising firm Specific Media bought Myspace for $35 million and touted Timberlake's ability to lend cachet to the once-dominant social network that long ago lost its magnetism.

Google+, which launched a month ago to great fanfare, is so far feeling more like Google nonplussed. Reported to have crossed the 20-million-user mark last weekend, the new social networking site is designed to correct one of Facebook's major drawbacks: the problem of too much information being shared with too many people. Instead of all social contacts being lumped into one huge group (meaning that your boss and your mother and your best friend from clown college all see the same posts)

Just a week after acquiring Myspace, Orange County brothers Tim and Chris Vanderhook strolled through the firm's Beverly Hills headquarters and settled into a corner office with a stunning view of the Hollywood Hills. It could not have been a better backdrop for the duo who see Myspace's future in Justin Timberlake, Hollywood producers and rock bands. "We are going to make Myspace cool again," said Tim, the chief executive of Specific Media. The little-known online advertising company from Irvine paid $35 million for Myspace, once the world's largest social network worth $65 billion.

How did Justin Timberlake — who in last year's movie "The Social Network" portrayed a pivotal figure in the history of Facebook's phenomenal growth — wind up owning part of rival social network Myspace? It's all about connections. Nicole Winnaman, president and founder of entertainment branding firm Winnaman & Associates, learned a little more than two weeks ago that Irvine-based advertising network Specific Media was in talks to acquire Myspace from News Corp. The executive, who has paired musicians like Justin Bieber, Britney Spears and Pink with well-known consumer brands, approached Timberlake's manager with a proposal to take a stake in the struggling Myspace as part of the new owner's attempt to bring sexy back to the once-dominant social network.

Myspace was once the Internet's equivalent of the hottest nightclub in town. In its heyday, the world's dominant social network attracted some 3 million bands, 8,000 comedians and countless filmmakers and wannabes who came to see and be seen. Now, Myspace is seemingly no place — a digital castoff that corporate parent News Corp. sold for $35 million in cash and equity to an Orange County digital media firm specializing in online advertising. That's a fraction of the $580 million that the media giant controlled by Rupert Murdoch paid to acquire the site a scant six years ago, and well shy of its one-time $65-billion valuation.

News Corp. raised the prospect of spinning off struggling Myspace, a signal that the media giant is getting ready to pull back from or exit social networks after being overtaken by Facebook. President and Chief Operating Officer Chase Carey, in a conference call Wednesday with analysts, said the company was weighing strategic options for Myspace, which he said would be best able to achieve its full potential "through a new ownership structure. " A number of parties have expressed interest in acquiring Myspace, Carey said, adding that the company would pursue all options, including bringing in an investor or restructuring ownership led by the site's managers.

Orange County advertising network Specific Media and Bay Area private equity firm Golden Gate Capital are finalists in the bidding for struggling social network Myspace, people familiar with the matter confirmed. News Corp. had hoped the once-dominant Myspace would fetch as much as $100 million, but bidding is in the range of $20 million to $30 million in cash and stock, said the people, who declined to be identified because talks are confidential. The media giant, which is controlled by Rupert Murdoch and paid $580 million for Myspace in July 2005, would retain a minority stake in the site, a person familiar with the matter has said.

Orange County advertising network Specific Media and Bay Area private equity firm Golden Gate Capital are finalists in the bidding for struggling social network Myspace, people familiar with the matter confirmed. News Corp. had hoped the once-dominant Myspace would fetch as much as $100 million, but bidding is in the range of $20 million to $30 million in cash and stock, said the people, who declined to be identified because talks are confidential. The media giant, which is controlled by Rupert Murdoch and paid $580 million for Myspace in July 2005, would retain a minority stake in the site, a person familiar with the matter has said.

News Corp. can't get MySpace off the books fast enough. Losses at the struggling social network nearly erased the strong gains recorded by the media company's television group, which saw a 23% jump in revenue in the quarter ending March 31 thanks to advertising for the National Football League playoff games and Super Bowl broadcast. The business unit that includes MySpace reported an operating loss of $165 million because lower advertising and search revenues were only partly offset by lower expenses, the company said.