news.myspace.com

Myspace hasn't proved that design doesn't count. It proved that you can make something really popular by letting people with bad taste express it. Though that of course is nothing new.

The difference is that news.myspace is designed by Myspace, not its users. Standards are higher then. People may be amused by their own farts, but they're generally disgusted by other people's.

iPods would not be so popular with Myspace users if they looked like they'd been designed by Myspace users.

One can go on and on about how myspace can be improved, before you even consider what members do to their own pages. It's true that the huge draw of myspace now is all the people already using it. People are willing to put up with a lot of garbage because of that. It could be faster and more streamlined.

But Myspace got a lot right. The default profile layout is excellent. Picture + basic information is immediately visible, as is the control panel (add/msg/favorite/block/etc). The friend space is prominent (even if it is not immediately visible) and the mini pictures of your friends are large enough to attract attention. Page comments include profile pictures, and links to the commenter's profile. The bulletin feature is extremely useful and popular. Finally, however kludgy the interface might be, users have enormous freedom to modify and personalize their own page.