See viral Netflix documentary trend
Social media users are ready to spill their tea as the viral Netflix documentary trend has taken off online.
As today’s social media perpetuates shorter attention spans, the internet is growing excited about the potential revamp of an OG platform: MySpace.
In the new documentary, “MySpace,” directed by Tommy Avallone, MySpace owners Tim and Chris Vanderhook reveal plans to relaunch the once-popular social media platform.
“We are stewards of the MySpace brand at this point, and we are going to relaunch MySpace,” Tim said in the documentary, according to People. As of Aug. 5, the documentary had not been widely released, as it was finishing its film festival circuit. “We’re just waiting for the right time to do it. And if that one doesn’t work, we’ll do it again.”
Details about a potential relaunch have not been shared. Viant Technology, an advertising software company co-owned by Tim and Chris Vanderhook, told USA TODAY on Aug. 5 that it does not have details to share about a relaunch.
Millennials react to MySpace rumors
Content creators who remember MySpace’s heyday in the early 2000s have spent the week sharing nostalgia for the platform, and also their hopes for what a relaunch could look like.
“If they’re going to give us MySpace back, I don’t want a new and improved MySpace,” content creator Light Skin Keisha said in a TikTok video on Aug. 4. “I want the same MySpace we had in 2005 and 2006 before technology and social media really starting advancing. Give us that nostaligic feeling back, especially for us millennials.”
In an Instagram Reel posted Aug. 3, content creator Chelsey Firth shared a video of her cracking her knuckles before opening a laptop with the on-screen caption, “Millennials dusting off their HTML skills, taking mirror selfies, picking a profile song and getting their Top 8 ready after hearing MySpace is coming back.” The MySpace “Top 8” feature allowed users to publicly display their eight favorite or closest friends on the platform.
Several have even poked fun at what their new profile photos would be on the platform, making callbacks to “scene kid subculture” made popular in the early 2000s − straightened and heavily teased hair featuring bangs swept over one eye, skinny jeans and graphic tees, fingerless gloves and music like pop punk, electronic dance music and heavy metal.
“Oh I’ll be ready. Just gotta get the kids to bed first,” content creator Dylan Wickliffe said in an Instagram Reel on Aug. 4. In the video, Wickliffe poses for a photo, standing against a fence and edits over a moody filter, which would have been popular on the platform in the early aughts.
Does Justin Timberlake own MySpace?
No, Justin Timberlake does not own MySpace, as of Aug. 5. Viant Technology acquired MySpace in 2011. However, Timberlake did have a stake in the company at one point.
MySpace was launched in 2003 by Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe. By 2005, the platform had more than 22 million members, according to a 2024 research paper on the history of MySpace published via EBSCO. That same year, News Corporation bought out the platform.
By 2008, MySpace membership began to decline with the advent and popularity of Facebook. In 2011, the platform was purchased by advertising firm Specific Media Group. As part of the sale and plans to relaunch the platform with a heavier focus on music, Specific Media partnered with Timberlake, who was involved in creating and promoting the new site, according to the paper. However, the relaunch didn’t go as planned.
In 2015, Specific Media’s parent company, Interactive Media Holdings, rebranded to become Viant Technologies. In 2016, Time Inc., which at the time owned Time, Sports Illustrated and Fortune magazines, purchased Viant, according to the research paper.
Timberlake no longer has a stake in the platform.
Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@usatoday.com.