MySpace launched in 2003 and quickly became a cultural hub, helping artists like Arctic Monkeys, Adele, and Nicki Minaj find early audiences.

But its highly customised pages, auto-playing music, and busy layouts eventually became a liability.

Facebook’s cleaner, simpler design pulled users away, and MySpace struggled through redesigns and ownership changes before fading from mainstream use.

Marketing experts say any comeback will depend on learning from that history.

Dr Alexa Fox, a marketing professor at the University of Akron, says the platform was a “first mover” in social media, but one that became too complex for many users.

She believes MySpace’s original strengths – music, creativity, and personal expression – could still resonate, but only with more accessible design.

“It could be more user-friendly, with less coding involved,” she says.

Alex Mills, a social media strategist who has led campaigns for Spotify and Adobe, says the very thing people are nostalgic for, a feed without algorithms, was also “the thing that killed it.”

“People still want a feed,” Mills says. “They just want a better one than the ones optimising for rage bait.”

Kevin McClary, head of performance marketing at Gorilla 76, believes MySpace should not try to compete directly with Meta, TikTok, or X.

“They can be successful and sustainable even as a niche platform,” he says, arguing it should be rooted in 2000s culture.

McClary says leaning into MySpace’s music identity could be a smart move, from profile songs to 2000s-themed festivals and merchandise.

He believes the audience could be broader than former users, with younger generations embracing the early-2000s aesthetics they never experienced firsthand.

“You see younger generations now buying old point-and-shoot digital cameras, MP3 players, even film cameras,” McClary says. “They clearly have an interest in the past.”

MySpace could meet users where that trend is growing by becoming a place rooted in a “specific time,” he says. He noted that creators making 2000s-style content on other platforms are often at the “mercy” of algorithms.

Fox agrees that differentiation is essential.

“MySpace shouldn’t hang their hat on features other platforms already dominate,” Fox says, pointing to Reels and short-form videos.

Popular formats can be added, she says, but they should not define the platform.

She also sees an opportunity to offer a calmer experience. Today’s feeds, she notes, are “algorithmic-driven AI, constantly in your face.”

A platform where users have more control, or simply feel less overwhelmed, could stand out in a crowded market.

For fans like Hawkins and Kristin, the appeal is emotional as much as practical. Both say they would return if MySpace kept its original spirit.

For now, its comeback exists mostly as a promise – a reminder of a time when social media felt a little less polished and a lot more personal.

“Are you still gonna have that same feeling?” Hawkins says. “Are you still gonna feel like, ‘oh my god, somebody loves me?'”