Hemanshu Nigam: Mr. Safety for MySpace

Can CSO Hemanshu Nigam make MySpace a safe neighborhood, without also making it an empty one?

The question going forward is whether the changes Nigam has made—and the changes he continues to push for—can actually make the site measurably safer, without making it, well, uncool. Already, MySpace's demographic is skewing older than competing sites. According to comScore Media Metrix (which measures Internet usage), percentage-wise almost twice as many users of the competing site Xanga, which welcomes users as young as 12, are under the age of 18.

A demographic change, if prompted by increased security controls, might be the kiss of death—or it might be a blessing. "There are two arguments there," says Openshaw from Deloitte Consulting. "If you increase the level of security and control and filtering, you might slow [the adoption rate] down, or it might increase because you make it palatable to a whole other segment of the population that might be willing to use it"—adults who want to share information with friends and family but who also want assurance of privacy and security. Already, comScore says, a surprising half of MySpace users are age 35 or older, and MySpace reports that its fastest-growing population is between the ages of 35 and 42.

Whichever way MySpace is trending, if you believe that social networking is not just a fad—that we have truly entered a world of consumer-to-consumer interaction on the Web—then you'd better hope that Nigam can find the right balance between security and commerce. "We can make these things absolutely safe and secure," says Allen from the Center for Missing and Exploited Children, adding, "but do we then drive people into offshore versions of this that are beyond regulation?" Ones that don't have 24-hour hotlines for law enforcement or someone in charge who is, yes, regularly willing to talk to the press when bad things happen on its site?

"If you look at the problems that they have fixed or improved, it's very encouraging," Allen says. "But there's more to do, and the challenge is daunting. It's the kind of thing that's going to require continuing commitment, continuing dedication and continuing communication. This is one of those things that's not going to be solved quickly."

Nigam, for his part, is bullish that not only will his changes make the site more secure but that they'll also improve the business. Although he likes to present what he's doing as a public service, as if talking about making money were crass, he insists that there is a strong business benefit to his role.