Myspace was always a bit edgy. People identified it with edginess and music.
Michael Birch
When I was a kid, I really liked playing chess, which is pretty geeky; I just enjoyed it - thinking, exercising my mind. And I found computers to be like an eight-hour day chess game.
I wanted to build something that was a system - that was mechanical and would propagate itself like a virus. I needed a way for it spread from person to person, and the best way to do that was trying to get someone to get their friends to sign up.
The problem with Myspace was always that it was never as strong a product as it needed to be. It left itself vulnerable to competition. It was only a matter of time before someone created something better.
Birthday Alarm was a very simple site based on being reminded of your friends' birthdays.
I built websites for myself. I didn't want to work for anyone else. I came from a science background, so I approached things fairly analytically.
If you are going truly viral, you don't need press. I mean, MySpace grew for a very long time without any press.
People can live without a Facebook account: my 13-year-old daughter has cancelled her account because it's not cool anymore.
I have always been very tech-focused, which you may almost say is the traditional CEO in Silicon Valley.
I don't have any great ambition to go out and make money. But I am still fascinated in starting up businesses and starting it in a way and running in a way that I want to do it.
