MySpace changes its logo

Once social networking sites have reeled the punters in, they have to keep them.

MySpace forged boldly into a logo change after Gap didn't fare so well.

It is the job of social networking sites to evolve. Once they've reeled the punters in, you see, they have to keep them. Hence why Facebook seems to want to keep us guessing by constantly changing its interface; and presumably why MySpace, its struggling older brother, has, according to the website TechCrunch, unveiled a new logo at the Warm Gun Design Conference in San Francisco.

The old logo, as users will know, featured the website name in simple, lower-case letters against a black background alongside three silhouetted figures. A trifle bland, you could say; and perhaps not reflective of the site's ethos of self-expression (these days it's tough to name a band or performer who didn't get their big break by playing their grainy home video through MySpace). The new version, though, has that base covered, with the word "my" written in Helvetica and a demarcated space left next to it, into which "user generated artwork" will be inserted.

"MySpace is a platform for people to be whatever they want, so we've given them the space to do it," Mike Macadaan,

MySpace's vice-president of user experience reportedly said at the conference. All power to them for making the change, but beware the curse of Helvetica: no sooner had Gap posted its new Helvetica logo on its website last week than criticism from advertising gurus started pouring in. As that same industry is no doubt aware, though, it's better to be talked about than not at all.