MySpace Redesign: Thumbs Up

MySpace launched part of its expected redesign today and the new look gives a much needed overhaul to the formerly cluttered social networking site.

The appeal of MySpace has always been its media-rich environment and a large amount of creative control that users have over their environment. However, Facebook has been able to catch up to the world's largest social networking site with its clean design and far more simplified user interface. With these new rounds of changes, MySpace has taken some of the appeal of a cleaner design but retained the appeal that makes the site so popular in the first place.

So what's new? Based on reports last week, I was expecting a splash page advertisement for the upcoming movie "The Dark Knight." Thankfully, MySpace didn't do this and opted for a "Dark Knight" theme for the homepage instead that includes an embedded 30-second trailer. This was a great move; it takes users directly to the site without having to search for a "skip this ad" link, and creates a fun atmosphere when you first arrive.

The downside, though, is that the page is media-heavy so it took a little while to load. Once the site came up, I was surprised to find the video was very low grade, so the picture quality was disappointing. To make sure it wasn't my desktop Windows PC connected via DSL, I also tested the new page on a MacBook connected via Wi-Fi; each time the result was the same: longer than normal load times and a grainy video.

You can click on the video and it takes you to a fan page where you can add "The Dark Knight" to your favorites, forward to your friends, and so on in traditional social networking style.

The other major change is the use of navigation. Like Google, the new MySpace has the most popular links across the left side and a drop-down menu for the rest. This was a fantastic move. The old style with links going across the entire screen was overwhelming, confusing, and annoying. This makes life much easier. Now the page is so much easier to look at and to find where you want to go.

Tabs are such a great way to organize Web content, and the search function has incorporated this too with a Facebook-like feel. Anything you search for is organized into four tabs: People, All MySpace, Web, Music and MySpace TV. It's another great move and one that will allow users to find what they are looking for much quicker.

Other changes are in the works and should be released later this fall, including a user friendly profile editor (right now you have to know some basic HTML and CSS) and changes to the profile page. If the next round of changes are anything like the ones released today, then MySpace will have become a far more user-friendly site, while still maintaining the appeal of a more flexible design. Right now, I am an ardent Facebook user, but even these latest changes might encourage me to start spending a little more time in MySpace.

REPORTED BY PC WORLD CONTRIBUTOR IAN PAUL

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