Myspace, don’t get cocky

Charlie makes an interesting comparison between MySpace and Microsoft and calls for MySpace to be more open to developers. It’s an interesting subject especially since News Corp. chief operating officer Peter Chernin recently remarked that new Web 2.o plays like YouTube owe most of their success to MySpace, and that MySpace could easily build competing products. The question is, will MySpace shut down outside services that compete with their new offerings? They had been listening to their users- remember how they turned off YouTube video embedding and then turned it back on when MySpacers complained en masse? But recently they alienated a host of widget developers by turning off the ability for flash widgets to link outside of MySpace. My conclusion: As long as MySpace remains an open platform they will rule, but in this new web even giants can be felled if they get cocky and start looking at a mirage of short term financial gains rather than seeing the big picture and remembering what got them where they are in the first place.