Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe co-founded Myspace in 2003. Fans recall its offbeat design, customizable profile pages, shiny graphics, and the first friend everyone had: "Tom." Facebook quickly overtook it and Myspace faded into internet history.
Myspace had become the most popular social network in the world by 2008, attracting about 115 million monthly visitors. After losing its lead to Facebook, Myspace never regained the same pull. The site changed hands, went through several owners, and piled up losses. Even the 2013 attempt to rebuild it as an "entirely new Myspace" failed.
This history shows a brand that kept trying to reinvent itself, but each new owner faced the same challenge: rebuilding trust and users from scratch. Tim and Chris Vanderhook, co-founders of Viant Technology, bought Myspace in 2011. The pair is featured in Tommy Avalone's documentary "Myspace," where they hinted at another attempt following the unsuccessful 2013 reboot.
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"We still own Myspace. We are stewards of the Myspace brand at this point, and we are going to relaunch Myspace. We're just waiting for the right time to do it," they said in the documentary. "And if that one doesn't work, we'll do it again."
The platform struggled, however, as ownership kept changing and advertisers moved to Facebook. "It just became an onslaught of losses," Tim Vanderhook said. "We lost a little over $150 million," Chris Vanderhook added. They did not outline a clear timeline for rollout.
The announcement may stir up memories for millennials, yet experts say the former giant would enter a crowded field where algorithmic timelines and short attention spans rule. A relaunch would lean into users' fondness for the mid-2000s internet and their frustration with today's mainstream platforms. Myspace's owners are positioning the return as an "antidote" to social media fatigue.
Even so, experts warn that Myspace must fight hard for ad dollars, adapt to new regulations, and appeal to a fundamentally different audience. A comeback attempt would arrive in a social landscape where the biggest platforms are already deeply entrenched. Myspace's own history shows how difficult a comeback can be.
Given how many networks now compete for short attention spans and how much polish is expected, the odds are still long. Investors should see the relaunch as a branding experiment rather than an immediate revenue engine. Myspace would need to prove it can attract users, retain them, and generate meaningful ad revenue against Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and others. The owners' comments suggest they are willing to keep trying even if the next attempt stumbles, but patience is not the same as a business model.
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