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BY MEGAN NOE

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MySpace -- the ruling social networking site of yesteryear -- has been dumped.

And for pennies compared to what News Corp. paid for it just six years ago.  

Though details of the deal haven’t been officially released, All Things Digital reports advertising specialist Specific Media bought the company for $35 million.

“The price is well below the $100 million that News Corp. had been hoping for and a chasm away from Myspace’s one-time billion (dollar) valuation. The deal includes a halfing of Myspace’s staff of 400, as well as other cost cuts. It’s likely Myspace CEO Mike Jones and other top staff will remain only for an interim period.”

It’s also a steep cut from the $580 million News Corp. shelled out for the site in 2005. But Fox Business -- also owned by News Corp -- says the deal isn’t all bad.

“It must be said that most of that money has been made back in an advertising deal with Google. News Corp., which is the parent company of this network will still retain a small stake in MySpace. And taking a look at News Corp. shares, they’re up about a percent and a half right now.”

The deal comes a day before the end of News Corp’s fiscal year and marks the end of an era for the site that has fallen far behind Facebook to become, as The Christian Science Monitor says, “a punchline.”

“Why did MySpace fail when Facebook thrived? MySpace's failure can be attributed in part to its chaotic design—customizable and confusing in contrast to Facebook's clean lines. And while Facebook rolled out slowly and in an exclusive manner (just to people with a .edu college address at first), MySpace was available to anyone.”

So what does Specific Media plan to do with the ailing online hangout? It isn’t clear, but part-owner Justin Timberlake is said to be taking an active role in the creative direction. Wired suggests the site play up its remaining popularity with indie bands.

“It could lower its profile and exploit that strength to the exclusion of all other ambitions. Even with with a $40 million pricetag, this reformulated niche social network would be a cheaper startup than Color, which has yet to get much traction, and a much better known, albeit tarnished, brand.”

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