Why MySpace Still Gets Tons of Visitors on Thursdays
MySpace might have taken a licking, but it keeps on ticking, according to a revealing interview with the CEO published Wednesday. MySpace CEO Tim Vanderhook told the Wall Street Journal that the site still draws 50 million visitors a month. That's a massive 575 leap over last year's traffic. But even more intriguing is that MySpace gets a weekly surge of visitors every Thursday. What explains that bump?, It turns out it's probably due to a weekly social media ritual called "Throwback Thursday" or TBT, in which users share long-forgotten photos, often from school or summer camp, and maybe tag a few other friends or family members along the way. Vanderhook said that some of these nostalgia-seekers return to MySpace every Thursday to raid their image libraries like a dusty old attic before heading over to post them on Twitter or Instagram. "They may not visit every day, but they come back once a week or once a month," Vanderhook told the Journal. The phenomenon may reinforce MySpace's reputation as a mid-2000's throwback, but it also helps the site stay alive and kicking.