In an effort to keep its loyal users, especially teens, engaged and away from social networking giant Facebook, MySpace has planned an integration with Meez Nation virtual world. Meez, the only online virtual playground for teens to create social and multimedia activities to share with friends, has over 13 million registered users all over the world. The integration between the two platforms will allow MySpace users to create avatars, play games and party together in a 3D-virtual environment.
“MySpace offers the perfect audience for Meez Nation — Internet-savvy teens who love to share videos and music and hang out,” said John Cahill, CEO of Meez. “Offering the Meez experience to the MySpace audience not only gives users a unique way to connect with friends, but offers brands who use the Meez platform to reach teens an even greater community for spreading brand awareness through interactive advertising.”
The integration, which will be available next week, enables Meez users to log into their virtual world directly from within the MySpace social network, almost as if the virtual world is a widget on a MySpace page that lets you dive into another world. The social networking site hopes the partnership will boost user engagement, to prevent teens from abandoning their MySpace accounts and join rival Facebook.
Since it’s a win-win partnership, not only will it boost Meez’s user base, but also provides the teen virtual playground a money-making opportunity. Meez will also be able to make money through virtual goods sales, as the MySpace integration supports “Coinz,” the company’s virtual currency. Using these “Coinz”, users are able to decorate their “Roomz” with premium, branded items, send gifts to “Roomz” owners and gain entrance to exclusive neighborhoods. They can also purchase pre-paid “Meez Coinz Cards” at major retailers, including Target and Best Buy, opening access to virtual spending for users without credit cards or other means of online purchasing.
Will the dying US social networking website ever overtake Facebook, which has over 300 million registered users even after this integration with Meez? What do you think?
