MySpace Blocks BuzzNet - The Monetization Begins

Valleywag has a small bit of news on MySpace’s next effort to wall its garden. In this round they’re attacking my friends at BuzzNet.

BuzzNet is a photo-sharing community that offers many of the same features that MySpace has. Apparently, lots of people are placing their BuzzNet photos onto the MySpace profiles and now they’re being wiped out, on accident ;)

Unfortunately, this problem seems tightly coupled to this form of massive, multinode social networks (MMSN). Unlike their gaming counterparts, they do not have a proprietary client through which they funnel the user experience. Consider that the MMOs of the world are desktop clients. The users of those systems are used to the software and accept limitations, despite the clever methods employed to guarantee flexibility.

The MMSNs have their own different issues. Largely, they’re looking to foster a community. MySpace, for example, has shown us that given the chance to “hack”, users will find it. It’s never ceased to amaze me the cottage industries that crop up around these different systems. So am I surprised that MySpace wants to protect itself from poachers? Of course not. Will it hurt them? Of course.

Their previous attempt with blocking YouTube was overturned. Now we see Buzznet - how far is the reach? Ultimately, that will be the defining factor. I spoke of this very topic yesterday with Rex from DaveTV. They demonstrated an embedded player that went into a MySpace profile with some embedded ads. I asked Rex the same question. “What happens if MySpace blocks you?”. His answer was along the lines that they wouldn’t or that they would unblock it like they did with YouTube. My question in response was “What if you’re not big enough to matter?” (not specifically DaveTV).

As more and more MMSNs form (or attempt to) it seems that this bridge will be crossed and burned time and time again. The trick is being on the right side before the fire comes.