The TechnologyGuardian is reporting that the Sun is planning to interact its website with News Corp’s recently acquired Myspace. It says: “The plan, in its early stages, would allow readers to go to a MySun portal and create their own web pages, blogs, as well as share pictures and video clips with friends using MySpace.com software.”
If this indeed true then it’s going to be a major shift in UK print news. The Sun is the UK’s most read newspaper and powering it online with muscle from web giant MySpace will certainly boost its popularity. What’s more, it will allow Sun readers not only to consume news, but discuss it among each other. The article goes onto say that they considered linking MySpace with the TimesOnline but thought that it was more appropriate for Sun readers (stating the obvious).
A few days ago I replied to a post on Antony Mayfield’s blog, where he quoted Rupert Murdoch’s warning of online media. Murdoch said: “Societies or companies that expect a glorious past to shield them from the forces of change driven by advancing technology will fail and fall,” he warned. “That applies as much to my own, the media industry, as to every other business on the planet.”
My comment to Antony’s post was if Murdoch was so pro Web2.0 then why isn’t his UK newspapers following the Guardian’s online lead. Well, I think this news may have answered my question.
Drew B seems to have been analysing the MySpaceophere (Oh no, a phrase coined!) of late and he has some interesting points. Notably about how the current MySpace users “are mostly school kids, first jobbers, travellers, or they’re at Uni.” What does this mean? Well, they’re the next generation of media consumers; the ones who barely get their news from print, but choose online instead.
When I talk to fellow students at uni, I carry out little experiments and one question you’ll often hear me ask is: “Where do you get your news from?” and nine times out of ten, I’ll hear the reply “online”. So-much-so, it’s totally normal and the look I usually receive when being answered is “Like duh, where else?”.
Drew also notes in another post MySpace’s size – double that of the blogosphere. So what do this news and information tell us? Well, for one, PR pros should be networking via Myspace as well as the blogosphere. If the Sun is moving into this particular space, not only we have the school kids, first jobbers, travellers or uni students, but we may have a chunk of the UK population too.
I’m off to tidy my MySpace page, make friends, interact and network. The blogosphere’s just soo passe. 
Side note: Off topic but I love this short post from David Parmet. Wise words.
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Stephen is a communications consultant based out of the UK. You can connect with him on Twitter or check out his LinkedIn profile. | Email Stephen
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Drew B's take on tech PR
Nice find Stephen
Nobleizer
“The Sun is the UK’s most read newspaper and powering it online with muscle from web giant MySpace will certainly boost its popularity.”
Erm…
Don’t you mean “MySpace is the UK’s most popular web destination and powering it offline with muscle from newspaper giant The Sun will certainly boost its popularity.”?
I’d say The Sun still had more sway in the UK than anything else. Am I wrong?
Stephen
You’re right Nobleizer and I agree, the Sun certainly has more sway in the UK than MySpace.
But from an online point of view, surely it would be MySpace doing the Sun a favour? Particularly, if MySun accounts are open to anyone in the world – allowing anyone to comment on the Sun’s topics of the day via their MySun webpage.
However, the more I think about your comment, the more I believe they’re probably doing each other a favour.
As it says in the Guardian piece, it’s still in the early stages, so it will be interesting to see what kind of model they use.
Either way, Mr Murdoch is looking happy.