MySpace turns into Corporate Evil Monster

We know it's happening and they know it's happening - and now it's happening in the national press. MySpace have to control the space - that's their route to monetization. But it aint gonna be pretty as users realise they are under the thumb of Fox, not floating in a free for all. As Ms Tequila, someone with 1.7 million friends on MySpace, says: “You guys used to be so cool. Don’t turn into a corporate evil monster.” Corporate evil monster? Rupert Murdoch? Who would have thought it.

MySpace Restrictions Upset Some Users - New York Times.

Some users of MySpace feel as if their space is being invaded. MySpace, the Web’s largest social network, has gradually been imposing limits on the software tools that users can embed in their pages, like music and video players that also deliver advertising or enable transactions.

MySpace says that it will block these pieces of third-party software — also called widgets — when they lend themselves to violations of its terms of service, like the spread of pornography or copyrighted material. But it also objects to widgets that enable users to sell items or advertise without authorization, or without entering into a direct partnership with the company.

The Times even got a quote from the Emperor of Widget himself:

Fred Wilson, a New York-based venture capitalist who invests in social media companies, said the strategy showed that the News Corporation was trying to take advantage of growing interest in widgets while also trying to carefully control what made it onto MySpace.

But that could be a dangerous strategy, Mr. Wilson said.

“Every attempt everyone has ever made to try to dictate what a person’s Internet experience will be has ended up coming up empty,” he said. “You have to accept the fact that you are never going to be the be-all and end-all of everyone’s experience. They are one click away from everyone else on the Web.”