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more about #owenvannatta more comments → Cheap Shot: I've been saying this for years. MySpace accidentally became the choice place for bands but they took so long to develop that. The challenge is howe... more » skt.smth: There is no way Myspace can even hope to compete with anybody unless they completely overhaul their site so it (a) works and (b) doesn't look like jun... more » Conchie Birdie: They also have a market for crazies who inevitably end up killing someone or doing something outrageous and gossipy sites post things found on their m... more » Peter Feld: This is good but you are omitting the stuff-white-people-like element. NPR had that this morning: "'I have friends who are white,' says 19-year-old D... more » Wrapitup: Thanks for an interesting post, Ryan. While I disagree that dropping out of college is necessarily evidence of incompetence, I agree with the rest of ... more » Betty Draper: Disagreed. I have always felt the only users Myspace had left were the indie musicians. It is much easier to search for and listen to music on Myspace... more » Uncle_Billy_Slumming: MySpace pages are a gestalt of its users' brains. Messy. Messy teenage rooms. Google and Facebook rule the waves because they are clean and minimal... more » nirreskeya: I'm not sure how much of this should be laid on Owen. He called the company "bloated" sure, but that's common parlance in these situations. Seems to... more » sweetpickles: The people who have stopped using MySpace aren't coming back...not even if you paid them. And the people who are still using it don't make the best de... more » BoonsFarmersDaughter: Let me guess...of the 400 employees being laid off, none are family members of bigwigs, or the bigwigs themselves. Amirite? more » The Real JR: How and why in the world did MySpace have over 400 employees to begin with? The platform hasn't changed in 3 years. more » Nicholas Carlson: That photographer is a real Asa Mathat more » LUV_TRUK: 2004: I can't believe you losers are still on Friendster. Everyone is on Myspace. 2007: I can't believe you losers are still on Myspace. Everyone ... more » random_play: Goodbye Owen! Thanks for everything. more » elvenjewel: Owen, your last post is by far your best. I for one will miss you. Good luck on your new beat. more » -
#socialnetworks
Pretty Boy MySpace CEO Has Dumb Surrender Plan
MySpace now says it is no longer competing with Facebook, the rival social network with far more users. No, now MySpace will focus on the niche of music and digital entertainment. And compete with Apple and Google. More » -
#cubicleculture
How MySpace Humiliates Fired Workers
MySpace's CEO purportedly keeps his body pretty tight. But he should lay off the weight obsession at work. Owen Van Natta said MySpace was "bloated" when he laid off 400 workers; now they're reportedly called "fat" to their faces. More » -
#breaking
MySpace Lays Off 400
Two months after taking over as CEO, Owen Van Natta is laying off 30 percent of MySpace employees. His outlook remains bleak; when was the last time you heard a CEO call his company "bloated" in a press release? More » -
#valleywag
New MySpace Regime Lowers Expectations
MySpace chief Own Van Natta is a consummate dealmaker; at Facebook he helped sweet talk Microsoft into a critical ad buy. MySpace is a trickier case: insiders at the social network are spreading word it faces "horrendous" user disengagement. More » -
#housekeeping
Valleywag: An Instruction Manual
Dear Ryan:
As I head to NBC to run its Bay Area site, I'm leaving you one Silicon Valley gossip blog, used but in good condition. A few thoughts on how to keep it that way. More » -
#hires
MySpace Job Is Sweet Revenge for Ex-Facebook Exec
Owen Van Natta, Facebook's former COO, is officially taking over MySpace, News Corp.'s social network. With its user numbers stagnant, MySpace desperately needs a restart. Is Van Natta the guy to do it? More » -
#hires
Should MySpace Hire the Hero or the Zero?
Former Facebook COO Owen Van Natta is the frontrunner to replace Chris DeWolfe as MySpace CEO. Blog lordling Jason Calacanis has been jokingly nominated for the News Corp. gig. Here's who should get it. More » -
#nerdspotting
Is Former Exec Still Tangled in Facebook's Web?
It's a day of high intrigue at Facebook headquarters, with CFO Gideon Yu leaving abruptly. So why was former COO Owen Van Natta, who left last year, spotted walking out of a Facebook office? More » -
