Walmart's MySpace Shuts Down

Users were forced to create Wal-Mart purchase lists

Wal-Mart this week announced that it has shut down its online social networking site called The Hub that it launched several weeks ago in anticipation of the back-to-school season. The site was created to mimic the social networking aspects of other websites such as News Corp.'s MySpace but ended up having one major restriction: Wal-Mart's version of MySpace required users to put together lists of products that they wanted to buy most from Wal-Mart.

Unfortunately, the required online Wal-Mart shopping list didn't bode too well with users, and most of Wal-Mart's younger users saw the requirement as being rather "geeky." Other than the stiff requirements, Wal-Mart also injected quite a heavy amount of corporate marketing onto its user pages. According to Wal-Mart:

Thanks for dropping by, but the "School Your Way" contest is now over and The HUB website is no longer accessible. The contest and The HUB were developed specifically for the back-to-school season. We hope you enjoyed them both. You will be redirected to the Walmart.com Soundcheck page where you can watch exclusive videos by today's hottest artists, download your favorite tunes, and buy CDs!

Despite the shut down of its social networking site, analysts still believe that Wal-Mart has potential in the sector. Reports suggest that around 3% of Walmart.com's traffic is already coming from MySpace, and that alone should prove some worth. Those who actually spent time on The Hub to create their own pages were given no warning of the shutdown.