How Facebook Overtook MySpace
- MySpace = King in 2005.
- Facebook = now kicking MySpace's %#@, taking names, and juicing-up one-legged ostriches.
The people happened.
While MySpace focused on maintaining its community, the Facebook management team focused on recruiting the most talented engineers and executives to grow its freakish sleeping giant.
Facebook recruited a revolving door of highly talented Google alumni, the best undergrads available, and top experts within their respective fields.
Facebook brought in:
- Better viral experts
- More efficient programmers
- Stronger usability coders
- More influential public relations teams
- Faster HR personnel
- Facebook recruited Sheryl Sandberg, the head of sales at Google.
- Facebook also got Jonathan Heiliger, the former engineering head at Walmart.
- Facebook then recruited David Ebersman, the former CFO and VP of Genentech.
- Facebook got Elliot Schrage, the former PR head at Google.
- etc.
- etc.
- etc.
When you have a position filled with better talent than your competitor, you kick your competitor's boo-tay in that position; for example, if you have a better marketing executive, you'll have stronger/smarter/better marketing.
Yet, in Facebook's case, it had Positions A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, etc., etc., etc., etc., etc. filled to the brim with more talented people than its rival.
While MySpace tried to maintain its status quo, the Facebook team invested in a team that would annihilate any social network in its path.
This was interesting to me because Facebook has been extremely addicting over the years, and I wonder how it went from Myspace(which was addicting) to all of a sudden FaceBook.Its fascinating how these social network sites can make people become so un-involved with life but so involved online. I have always had an inner curiosity of why that is. I take it that Facebook has had a stronger demand for students,which lead for an even stronger demand for businesses and media. I remember Myspace being the best site online to waste time. Customizing my homepage, sending friend requests, adding music, and sharing games and photos all made my life so narrow because I was always focused on the site. Now Facebook has taken over, and I can no longer (once again) enjoy life outside of the internet because Facebook is so addicting. Now I have to worry about Twitter next. Gosh! When will I have ever get to experience the outside world?
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