Executive Suite: MySpace's CEO took big merger in stride

— -- Q: Wasn't News Corp.'s acquisition of MySpace the adult version of making the jocks and geeks sit together in the school cafeteria?

A: No. There have been a few rocky spots, but those got smoothed out pretty quickly.

Q: Tell me about a rocky spot?

A: Just small bumps in the road. We wanted to hire 400 to 500 people. Divisions in large companies aren't used to hiring 400 or 500 people. They consider adding 10 or 20 people to be fast. Rather than just hire them, we put together a business plan that said exactly what each would be doing and the benefits we'd get from them. It ended up being a helpful exercise. News Corp. had a thousand ideas for us. It's important to always be focused on the top four or five that we absolutely have to execute. If you try to do too many things you're just not going to get anything done. We had to push off certain ideas, to say, "No, that's a great idea and we will get to it next quarter."

Q: How does the culture at News Corp. differ?

A: They probably don't spend 70% of their day online. People in the media business, whether it's talent agencies or film companies, make phone calls or have their assistants make phone calls. At MySpace, most communication is IM (instant messaging), e-mail or text messaging. I'm not sure every 45-year-old would feel comfortable developing a profile for a social network and putting their lives out there. Everyone at MySpace feels very comfortable doing that. The average age at MySpace is mid-20s, certainly a younger demographic than at News Corp. But Fox has some pretty edgy content: The Simpsons, The Family Guy, Napoleon Dynamite. They have the perception of being an older, conservative company, but they foster incredibly edgy content for a youth culture. Our site, on the other hand, has gone more mainstream.