There are too many social networking platforms taking up space in our brains. From Twitter and Facebook to LinkedIn and Reddit—not to mention the many, many more—it’s all a bit overwhelming. The ebb and flow of social media popularity always brings back wistful memories of the platform that really started it all. We can’t actually go back to the 2007 glory days of MySpace. But we can replicate it. And a German teenager named An actually pulled it off with SpaceHey.
This is how SpaceHey describes itself: “SpaceHey is a retro social network focused on privacy and customizability. It’s a friendly place to have fun, meet friends, and be creative.”
Sure, it’s a little painful to see the word “retro” in a redesign of a social media network that launched in 2003. (MySpace isn’t even 20 years old yet!) But time does move in mysterious ways. An told Vice in 2021 that while they weren’t old enough to use MySpace during its heyday, the platform’s creative license was very appealing. After all, we are talking about a platform that along with Tumblr, Geocities, and Neopets, served as the premier “Intro to Coding” class. Luckily, MySpace Tom has a genuine fan in An, who even lists the MySpace co-founder as his hero on his own SpaceHey page.
SpaceHey specifically includes so many of the early-’00s features that have largely gone the way of flip phones. Users can customize their profiles using HTML and CSS (of course), and browse the site’s bulletins, blogs, and forums. Plus this is a social networking site so there’s also room for the tried and true instant message. Most importantly, SpaceHey is devoid of ads, algorithms, and anything else that curates the space for you. After all, per the site, SpaceyHey is “just a safe space for you and your friends to hang out online!” A fun place to just vibe out and have a good time? Sounds like the best place.
An operates SpaceHey with his sister through tibush labs, their start-up. So far, they have over 500,000 users—not too shabby for a small slice of nostalgia.
