It was still a good idea for News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWS) to buy MySpace.com over fours years ago for a little more than half a billion. The social media network still brings in decent ad revenues, even though it is out of the popular fad culture of social media. That space is now owned by Facebook and Twitter. But then MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta says that his company is "fundamentally different" than Facebook -- as in a special experience providing entertainment content -- those words could come back to haunt him.

As will words like "I really don't view Facebook as a competitor." While it's true that Facebook and MySpace go after two types of online social interaction, they are both vying for many of the same customers in a large crossover audience. Teens, 20-somethings, and others are very fickle and many use both social networks. The two may have different goals, but they are competitors.

A new executive team is trying to bring MySpace back to its former glory. By focusing on music, videos and games, it hopes to recapture some of its luster. With the MySpace refugees mounting, it's time for some new blood to make some brilliant, future-changing decisions. This week, the company is holding a conference for its global ad sales team to explore ways to bring in traffic and beef up ad spending.

MySpace is poised to haul in $495 million in ad revenue this year, down 15% from last year's $585 million, according to research firm eMarketer. In August, MySpace attracted 64.2 million unique visitors from the United States, off 15% from August 2008, according to comScore, while Facebook pulled in 92.2 million unique U.S. visitors – up more than 100% year-over-year.

When News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWS) bought MySpace.com for over $500 million back in 2005, some said it was the way Rupert Murdoch would charge into the digital media audience business in a big way. While that was true at the time, the digital world and its audience can become fickle and change rapidly as new web-based properties develop. It's pretty obvious by now that Facebook has leaped past MySpace and is "the place" to be when it comes to social networking interaction (although Twitter is garnering all the buzz presently).

Why Did MySpace lose its way? MySpace evolved to become a portal, offering music downloads and other goodies, while Facebook kept its social networking status as a place where friends and associates could virtually connect. And there you have it -- MySpace didn't evolve as trends were created and rapidly changed.