MySpace has been brought back to life - sort of
Blogs, bulletins, an instant-messaging function and HTML and CSS customisability can all be found on the site
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Your support makes all the difference.A teenager has recreated MySpace under the name SpaceHey, and it is attracting attention from musicians and other users seeking nostalgia.
SpaceHey looks and feels notably similar to MySpace, with blogs, bulletins, an instant-messaging function and HTML and CSS customisability, but is also more focused on personalisation and privacy according to Vice.
The website, coded by 18-year-old An from Germany, launched on the 29 November and has since accumulated 55,000 users – although the demographics of exactly who has joined are unclear as the company’s privacy policy is minimal compared to other social media sites.
The website was developed during the pandemic, with An apparently sorting through archived web pages, screenshots, and videos of MySpace in order to keep the website authentic.
Poets and musicians have been particularly prominent on SpaceHey, which is unsurprising; the website was formative to the success of many bands such as the Arctic Monkeys but such popularity can be a double-edged sword; MySpace caused much distress when it was found that 50 million songs had been lost after a server migration project went awry.
“I was only a few years old when MySpace was popular,” An told Vice over email. “I never came to use Myspace. However, thanks to older friends and the internet, I heard a lot about it. I came to the conclusion that you can't find something like this nowadays, where everyone can be this creative.”
However, the designer is apparently adamant that SpaceHey is more than merely a clone of the one-popular site.
An personally adds each new user, as well as responding to complaints and questions on Twitter, and taking an active approach to banning users who spread hate speech and harassment – which includes Neo-Nazis and gender critical users.
MySpace – or at least, the website’s format – is not the only older site that might see a reappearance.
Bebo, which was founded in 2005and unseated MySpace as the UK and Ireland’s biggest social network, is apparently making a comeback.
A “brand new social network” will apparently be launching this month; however, it has stated that “all old data and photos were lost many years ago and are not recoverable.”
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