Bids to buy Myspace from News Corp. are due Friday. The parent company will likely be selling the site for hundreds of millions of dollars less than it originally paid. MySpace, the one-time social network powerhouse, was eclipsed in recent years by Facebook.
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STEVE INSKEEP, host:
The struggling networking site MySpace is up for sale. Bids are expected today.
As NPR's Mandalit del Barco reports, the parent company, News Corp, may sell it for hundreds of millions less than it originally paid.
MADALIT DEL BARCO: A half dozen private companies are reportedly bidding for MySpace, which News Corp hopes to sell for at least $100 million dollars. In 2005, Rupert Murdoch's media empire paid $580 million.
Silicon Valley analyst Brian Solis says at the time MySpace was the most popular social networking site in the country.
Mr. BRIAN SOLIS (Analyst): It was always perceived as, you know, the bad boy of social networks.
DEL BARCO: Then came Facebook and Twitter, with their friends, updates and instant chats. Solis says Internet traffic migrated away from MySpace as it morphed into a site for music, movies and celebrities.
Mr. SOLIS: MySpace became sort of this glorified personal billboard system for showing off. It really wasn't a social network for you and your friends and your peers.
DEL BARCO: MySpace has undergone massive layoffs and a logo redesign, but Solis says the site is still profitable.
Mandalit del Barco, NPR News.
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Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/04/29/135829347/news-corp-looks-for-myspace-buyer?ft=1&f=1049
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