How MySpace Can Survive Apple’s Ping – Or Can They?

Provided by Technorati / Dan Martelli and YouTube

Apple’s announcement of Ping exploded the blogosphere with talk of the service being the final nail in the coffin for the former king of social media, MySpace.

Demonstration Video:

While this may be true, there is a way for MySpace to be relevant AND to get back into the players club of social media.

Here’s how:

Content — Social media is all about content. Without good content, users won’t use the service. It’s really that simple. For MySpace to make a comeback and be relevant, they should look to partner with serious recording studios and major artists. You’re going to say, well, they already do that. Of course they do, but what’s missing is the benefit for the end-user. How about record contracts? Free music? Exclusive deals to concerts?

Leap Frog their UI — MySpace has tried to improve their user interface, but it just doesn’t cut it. People flocked to Facebook because of the simplicity of the service. And, since the network swelled to 500 million, it would be hard to get people to move back to MySpace. Users networks are there. They don’t want to mess with that. So, if they changed their UI to do something that no other network does, they might have a chance.

Make Love to Facebook — Look, Facebook is the king. Why not look at creative ways for the networks to partner and leverage their strengths. For Facebook, it’s the access to music and artists. For MySpace, it’s the 500 million people.

Of course, I highly doubt that MySpace can ever compete with Ping, but if the company’s going to make a move, they need to do it sooner rather than later.