With MySpace CEO out, it's time to reinvent the company

With MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe stepping down, analysts say it's the perfect time for the social networking pioneer to reinvent itself and try to regain some momentum against rival Facebook Inc..

News Corp., which bought the social networking site in 2005, announced late on Wednesday that co-founder DeWolfe, by "mutual agreement", will not renew his contract and will be stepping down as CEO in the "near future." He will continue to serve on the board of MySpace China and will be a strategic advisor to the company, News Corp. said.

MySpace has been on the slide in recent years, letting Facebook significantly eclipse it in terms of market and mindshare. Three months ago, online researcher ComScore Inc. reported that Myspace, the pioneer of the social networking phenomenon, had been overshadowed as Facebook recorded almost double the number of global visitors in December than longtime leader MySpace.com. Five-year-old Facebook, once thought of as the up-and-coming social network, recorded its 200 millionth user earlier this month and had laid claim as the top social network for the burgeoning over-35 crowd.

In February, Facebook's audience of people over the ripe old age of 35 increased by 23% compared to a year-earlier, according to a report released today by Hitwise Pty., which measures online traffic. While Facebook was first created to serve college students, the network over the past year or so has broadly expanded its audience.

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