Main Accounts: The Story of MySpace
MySpace was the first major social media company. And it was the first major social media company to collapse. But what happened on MySpace would have broad implications for all the platforms to follow. What was this internet sensation in aughts? Log on with Joanne McNeil and revisit MySpace through the people who lived it.
- Update frequency
- every 9 days
- Average duration
- 31 minutes
- Episodes
- 11
- Years Active
- 2023
8. MySpace Forever
In April 2023, Joanne did something she hadn't tried in well over a decade — she logged into her MySpace account. For our season finale, she set out to find the people who still use MySpace to this d…
7. MySecurity
"If you open a hole on the internet," UCLA professor Sarah T. Roberts tells us, "it gets filled with sh*t."
The tragic death of Megan Meier was a turning point for MySpace. As the first social media…
Bonus: Tina Meier (Full Interview)
Our last episode featured the tragic death of Megan Meier, which became the biggest scandal MySpace would ever face. In this bonus episode, Joanne wanted to share our full interview with Megan's moth…
6. Megan's Story
The moral panic over online predators on MySpace was largely overblown, but there was some truth to these concerns. These stories ended up on the nightly news and further stoked people’s fears about …
Bonus: The Jason Scott MySpace Story
We first reached out to digital archivist Jason Scott in episode five about the MySpace data loss. It turns out Jason had a lot more to say about his place in MySpace history that didn't make it into…
5. My Music
MySpace forever changed the way we listen to music. The social network shifted artists' relationships with their fans, and the site helped launch the careers of many huge stars, from Panic! At The Di…
4. Scene Kids
MySpace amplified the ongoing moral panic around teenagers on the internet. For young MySpace users, many of the trials of teenhood were transposed from the locker rooms, lunchrooms, and high school …
3. MySpace Famous
In this episode, Joanne delves into how MySpace—like reality TV—became a vehicle for celebrity in the aughts, and gave way to the culture of influencers. She catches up with people who built a fan ba…
2. Dialed Up
Let’s look back at the internet communities that were thriving before MySpace — even before Friendster. Why did MySpace get ahead when there was strong competition from other social networks at the t…
1. Welcome to MySpace
The MySpace era was incredibly influential, and incredibly messy. And it remains largely underexplored. Young people talk about MySpace like a cool scene they wish they could have experienced. Like C…
Introducing: Main Accounts: The Story of MySpace
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