Rupert Murdoch is not a happy camper. Myspace is hemorrhaging money, and no one can seem to stop the bleeding. Adotas reports that Myspace has lost News Corp around $32 million in the fourth quarter of 2009; about $73 million total for 2009. This decline can largely be attributed to decreases in search and advertising revenues based on consistently falling traffic.

The fundamental problem with post-Fox Myspace is that they simply focused on finding ways to monetize and exploit the site's users, instead of trying to maintain a user-centric social experience. The site became rife with shady marketers, promoters, spammers and obtrusive ads… sparking a mass exodus of users, whom Facebook was only too happy to accommodate.

Myspace also suffered from many maladies that made the user experience simply too difficult to bear in the face of up-and-coming Facebook. Myspace users complained about the site's poor usability, frequent errors and confusing pages and layouts. Where customization was at first novel and interesting, it had become unwieldy, sometimes downright ugly, and too focused on individual personalization rather than creating and sharing with a community. So many "users" were marketers, and their comments and posts so self-involved and non-reciprocatory that there was just no incentive for anyone to participate anymore. Ads were everywhere; a large number of personal messages received were spam and even many profiles were simply ads. The average, everyday user found the balance of usability and community they were looking for on Facebook, who offered a simple and clean interface where everything was easily shared and commented on.

So what now? Can this once dominant space be salvaged AND made to turn a profit? While Myspace is no longer the platform of choice for users to connect with family and friends, it still attracts around 50 million unique visitors per month, (even though that number has fallen around 20% in the past six months), and so it is still a viable destination site.

Here is my 4-point plan to fix Myspace:

1. Completely shift the focus of the site and redesign the user experience.
   

   Why does the user have to be fluent in HTML to personalize their profile or post pictures or video on Myspace? The beauty of Facebook is that all of the code is under the surface, and the user never has to futz around with it. A click or two, and every picture, video and comment is just as it was meant to be. Though the platform does allow for huge personalization using HTML code, it seems that this has fallen in priority of desirable features – with ease of use taking the top spot.
   

2. Mobilize the user base to actively create content, rather than just update their statuses.
   

   The creation of user-generated content pages on an infinite number of topics would enrich the content library, and drive user engagement. The idea is to create a platform that would empower and re-energize the once-passionate Myspace community to participate in a forum that isn't self-centered or a shameless marketing ploy.
   

3. Shift the revenue model from display advertising to behaviorally targeted ads, as well as demographic and psychographic data collection and analysis.
   

   Visitors know that ads are inescapable – a way of life in today's internet; but the ads don't need to be intrusive, and if done correctly, can actually enhance the community experience by serving as targeted, relevant advertainment. Visiting a Muse fan page to read reviews of their new album? A clearly labeled side bar will offer you a clip from their new video and tell you that they just announced new concert dates near you. Don't make people search for it, serve it right up! Such ads are proven to increase conversion rates and would be more attractive to higher-value advertisers, as opposed to the "Get Ripped in 4 Weeks" and "Who's got a crush on you?" crowd Myspace is currently in business with.
   

4. Foster and publicize innovation.
   

   In its heyday, Myspace was constantly adding features and updates to the site… and telling people about it! What Myspacer doesn't remember the steady stream of messages from Tom talking about what was constantly being done to further the user experience? Stop focusing on turning a profit, and start focusing on developing functions and features that will make people want to use Myspace again.