In case you hadn't guessed, (admittedly, I doubt you have...this has been a bit cryptic so far) I'm deleting my Myspace account. I imagine there may be one or two of you thinking "Why is this worthy of a blog entry?" and to an extent, you'd be absolutely right. BUT...think about it, Myspace was a big deal 4 or 5 years ago. For many people, it was the beginning of the social networking revolution that started off in dark corners of universities in America and whatnot. Admittedly, there was Bebo, but that was a pile of crap and I don't think anyone really figured ou what the purpose of Bebo was apart from to prove that Myspace was easier to use.
So like I say, Myspace was the beginning of the social networking revolution for many. A quick look at my page suggests that I had 119 Myspace friends. I knew most of them, but by the end, a good sized portion of them were wrestlers and bands. A good mixture, and I guess that actually reflected who I was at the time.
One last read through the wall posts. There's nothing there of great significance to me that is worth saving. There's stuff from exes, a girl who was in love with me and people I haven't spoken to in a long long time. If I'm honest, I can live without reading that again. I've gone the last two years without reading it, I'll manage the next few decades.
Myspace really died a death when Facebook took off. I took quite a long time to make the switch, and if I'm honest, it probably wasn't until around mid-2008 when I got Facebook and started using that instead. There was a brief transition, but I guess once you realise once you've made friends on Facebook with the people on Myspace that you actually knew, there was no reason to keep using it. Of course, Twitter has now come along and that's HUGE stuff. I'm on Twitter (@tkayll) but I still use Facebook. There are many people who don't really like Twitter for various reasons. I like it, I've had interaction with famous people and I've discovered loads of interesting stuff. I mean, without it, I probably wouldn't have read as many interesting articles as I have done, I wouldn't have enjoyed the recent Ashes series as much and I wouldn't have discovered as many new bands/podcasts as I have.
So Myspace has been something that's lay there a few years, a bit sorry for itself. It's tried to evolve and keep up with Facebook, but if there aren't people using it and continuing to make it relevant, it'll die out. There was news earlier this week or last week that Myspace was closing its Germany sector. People in Germany can still use the website (if they want to) but there isn't anyone running the site from that country. It'll effectively be left there to die with an occasional glance from the American admins.
Anyway, on with the actual point of this blog, which is the deletion of Thomas Kayll's Myspace page. I'll be honest, this is a difficult process. Myspace clearly don't want anyone to leave and they're making it as difficult as possible. You have to know exactly where to look: Account Settings. Then, there's a button to cancel your account. Once you tell them you want to cancel your account, they ask you WHY you're leaving. I kid you not, this is directly from Myspace:
We're sorry to hear you want to leave. Please let us know why. You can really help us improve Myspace!
Bored
Spam
Privacy
It then asks you if you want to keep your account, just in case they can trick someone who is deleting their account for a reason that isn't listed there. Personally, I've gone for "Bored" because well, I'm writing a blog about it. When I click to tell them I'm bored of Myspace, I get another box:
Myspace works best when you are connected to things that you are into. Go discover some cool stuff:
Listen to Music
Checkout Movies
Play Games
Browse People
They REALLY don't want people to leave, do they? I've discovered cool stuff like music, games and people. It's called Twitter and Facebook. Please, I'm begging you now, let it go. Please. But no, looks like there's one last hurdle to overcome. They want comments as to why you're leaving. You know something, I'll give them credit for trying, and I'm almost tempted to keep the account as a reward to Myspace for their efforts. I won't though. That's it now, surely? I've told them why, I've told them I don't want to find new stuff on Myspace and I've left them a comment. That's enough.
No. No it isn't. Apparently, this is only a request. They've sent me an email saying that I've got to now confirm my request to cancel my account. Holy shit. They're making me work for this. I'd be reluctantly sat by the door, offering to fetch my coat and maybe save my favourite photo or something while I'm at it. Since I've shared everything else, here is that final apologetic email from Myspace.
You're… leaving us?
Sure you're ready to let go of your friends, music, and that profile design you spent so much time creating? Canceling your account means your profile and all your content will be removed from Myspace and you can't get it back!
Why not preserve your profile, playlists and photos by deleting your friends and changing your privacy setting to "Only my friends?" That way, you can still enjoy using Myspace Music and Video and if you ever want to come back, it's here waiting for you!
If you're sure you want to let go, confirm the cancelation of your account by clicking the link below. Once clicked, we will schedule your account deletion, which may take up to 24 hours.
We hate to see you go, but we hope you have fun out there.
See you around,
Your friends at Myspace
Yes, I'm leaving you. Move on. If Myspace makes a return like 80s dance music, the Mini Cooper or Michael Schumacher, I'll come back with my tail between my legs and sign up again. I'm pretty confident though, so it's gone. Clicking the link (which I removed) then asks me to enter my email address to confirm my request and again reminding me that I'll lose everything on Myspace forever. Seriously, I get the point. I'm sure you do too. I'll live though. With my email address entered though, I've FINALLY reached the end of the line and cancelled the account.
That, ladies and gentlemen, was one of the most tiresome and frustrating things I've ever had to do. Neil Young's song Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black), and perhaps more famously Kurt Cobain's suicide note, said "It's better to burn out than to fade away". Myspace should have heeded these words and have sold itself to a Bolivian drugs baron or something and gone out in a blaze of glory. Instead, it sits in a darkened corner of the internet next to dial-up and is forgotten about.
Thanks for the memories Myspace, but it's over.
Tom
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