Cash The Checks

I remember when MySpace.com was a file storage site. You could upload your files and then get on another computer anywhere else and download your files. It was a great online backup tool. Then it was sold and turned into what we know it today, the most powerful social networking site ever created. A single domain name worth millions, make that billions, of dollars.

How did they do it? How come no one else did it in 1996, 1999, even 2001? It was a matter of not only the right idea but at the right time in history.
There were always chat rooms, AOL and Yahoo had them, it was where you could meet with friends at a certain time to communicate online. Message boards were around too, they were around before chat rooms. Then instant messengers came around like AIM. Music sharing sites were the buzz with Napster making the headlines on a daily basis. Even way back in the day there were “blogs” (not how we define them today though). If you had a little personal website you had a guestbook on it, where visitors can post comments on your site.

The internet was ready for this idea. We had all the tools, we were introduced to sharing sites, it was time to take the next step. MySpace seemed to get all these things together and connect them all into one profile. The key here is a communication hub: forums, IMs, email, picture sharing, comments, all-in-one. You no longer had an email address, an instant messaging name, a yahoo profile, you just had: a myspace.