Others Vie For Myspace's Space

The massive success of myspace.com has put social networking front and center as the preferred marketing channel to reach today's Internet-savvy youth. Now other social networking services have emerged—seeking to capitalize on the MySpace momentum with their own spin on the concept.

The newest is TagWorld, which launched in November, but added a music component Dec 12. As with MySpace, TagWorld users create personal Web sites with favorite photos, music and links. Unlike MySpace, users do not link to each other, but rather "tag" their content with IDs—"punk," for example, or "modern art"—that link to similar tags.

TagWorld members post playlists that other members can hear with a customized media player. The service is limited to music from participating artists. According to TagWorld president Evan Risken, more than 200 acts have taken part, including the Ying Yang Twins, Death Cab for Cutie, Sleater-Kinney and Pitbull. The company seeks new labels and artists, positioning the service as a free marketing channel.

Artists can create profiles on TagWorld and upload music that members can download or stream, depending on the rules they set. A reporting tool allows artists to track song play, along with listener demographics.

While TagWorld has about 150,000 members, a fraction of MySpace's 32 million, Habbo Hotel has attracted 40 million members worldwide since its 2000 launch.

The site targets 13- to 18-year-olds, and lets users create custom characters that move SIMS-style through "rooms," chatting with members via thought boxes that appear near their character.

In September 2004, the company began hosting artists. The Gorillaz, Ashlee Simpson and Bow Wow have visited and created customized likenesses to chat with members.

The site works with bands for short-term projects, but Timo Soininen, CEO of Habbo Hotel parent company Sulake, says this will soon expand. The company is planning a community-based Internet radio station called Habbo Hut in the United States, and a music-specific offshoot of the Habbo Hotel with permanent artist "rooms."

Even Friendster, one of the original social networking sites, partnered with peer-to-peer service Grouper Networks to add music and multimedia earlier this year. Expect new services to appear in coming months, with emerging players like Buzz-Oven, xanga.com and mobile blog service Intercasting gaining momentum in what is already being called "the MySpace generation." ••••