Unless you're a big company aready like Microsoft, AOL, Cox, etc, trying to compete with myspace seems like a waste of time.

First, you guys are taking the wrong direction towards competing with it. Mypsace is not popular due to programmers developing the site, but it's popular in large due to its marketing team. The key is MARKETING! At car shows filled with young adults, I see a myspace sign. At any event like concerts, I see a myspace sign. Myspace is feature in many computer magazines. Fox bought myspace.com It's popular through mass advertisements - not for the site itself.

If you want to compete with myspace be sure to spent a lot of money on advertisement. What's something innovate can you bring to your new social networking site? It must be new and unique feature. It has to be innovative. Something no other site provides. Even if you can do that, how will they even know about your website?

This has been done before with ratemypic.com it got popular and soon there were copy cats. What made the rest different?