This image was lost some time after publication, but you can still view it here.

BREAKING NEWS! SEVERAL STUDENTS AT FALLS CHURCH HIGH SCHOOL AREN'T ON MYSPACE AS MUCH AS THEY USED TO BE!

Oh my god, right? Like the Washington Post totally wrote a whole article about some kids having the usual MySpace problems — creepy strangers, jealous friends, whatever. The paper says this means MYSPACE IS DYING and GOOGLE IS SCARED (actual quote: "The relatively short lifecycle of a popular site is a terrifying prospect for companies like Google Inc.").

The story's just another poorly researched piece of blogger bait. Its point is bullshit — MySpace is not dying. But what's the Post trying to hide?

  • A well-staffed newspaper can find anecdotal evidence for even the most obviously fake trends.
  • The Wall Street Journal did this story last week.
  • Nielsen-NetRatings figures are unreliable. (True.)
  • Stat tracker Alexa says the Washington Post is so last January.

In Teens' Web World, MySpace Is So Last Year [Washington Post]