When Rupert Murdoch wakes up and checks his reports, he feels good about himself, because he owns MySpace, not your space, his space.

Background: 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.  The latest victim is Hoooka, which follows a list that includes Revver, Vidilife, and many others. 

“We probably should have stopped YouTube,” Michael Barrett, chief revenue officer for Fox Interactive Media, a part of the News Corporation, said in an interview in late February. “YouTube wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for MySpace. We’ve created companies on our back.”  Of course, forget for a second that MySpace built its business off of users’ backs… but who’s keeping tabs.  The point is that when Mr. Murdoch woke up and found out that Google bought YouTube for $1.6 billion, heads rolled.  Things had to change.  Enter this policy.

While I agree with what Fred Wilson says in this New York Times article:

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.”

I think that people need to wake up and smell the coffee, or tequila, I guess:

“The reason why I am so bummed out about MySpace now is because recently they have been cutting down our freedom and taking away our rights slowly,” wrote Tila Tequila, a singer who is one of MySpace’s most popular and visible users, in a blog posting over the weekend. “MySpace will now only allow you to use ‘MySpace’ things.”

Ms. Tequila, born Tila Nguyen, has attracted attention by linking to more than 1.7 million friends on her MySpace page. To promote her first album, she recently added to her MySpace page a new music player and music store, called the Hoooka, created by Indie911, a Los Angeles-based start-up company.  

People, lay off the crack pipe.  It’s not MySpace.org, now is it?  Have you heard of News Corp.  FOX?  Fair and balanced? 

Earlier this week, News Corp. announced that it would be launching a MySpace political channel.  I am going to guess, just guess, that the views will be as fair and balanced as the propaganda you would find on FOX.  And you know what, that’s fine, because News Corp. bought Intermix, kept MySpace, got rid of the non-MySpace assets and they are, as any owner is, allowed to do what they want with it.

When I read:

But Justin Goldberg, chief executive of Indie911, said MySpace’s actions undercut the notion that the social networks’ users have complete creative freedom. “We find it incredibly ironic and frustrating that a company that has built its assets on the back of its users is turning around and telling people they can’t do anything that violates terms of service,” he said.

“Why shouldn’t they call it FoxSpace? Or RupertSpace?” Mr. Goldberg said, referring to the News Corporation’s chief, Rupert Murdoch.

I think, “hmm… he does not need to, it’s already MySpace, no, not your space, his space, as in Rupert’s space, you just happen to rent the space.”

Disclosure: Mr. Murdoch was my one time indirect boss, I was employed by News Corp. for 3 months of magical bliss.  We parted ways on seemingly good terms until the spineless hypocrites had their way.

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