February 4th, 2008
MySpace U-turn: YouTube contributed to our success
Long time readers of this blog will remember the MySpace vs YouTube war of words (and actions) that dominated much of 2006. It began when MySpace, albeit temporarily, blocked access to YouTube videos on the social networking site, reached its peak following the Google-acquisition of YouTube, and concluded with the launch of MySpaceTV.
So imagine my surprise when I read the following quote (published on TechCrunch) from MySpace’s newly appointed COO Amit Kapur, talking up the site’s third-party developer program (expected to launch tomorrow):
“If you look at the past, companies like Photobucket and YouTube did contribute to the success of MySpace. They were continuing to build on the user experience in ways we were not focused on. Philosophically, we want to make that easier for companies.”
Contrast that with what News Corp.’s Peter Chernin told investors back in September of 06:
“If you look at virtually any Web 2.0 application, whether its YouTube, whether it’s Flicker, whether it’s Photobucket or any of the next-generation Web applications, almost all of them are really driven off the back of MySpace.”
Of course, it’s quite possible (and likely) that both statements are true: YouTube benefited from MySpace’s audience and MySpace benefited from YouTube’s killer-feature (easy publishing and sharing of online video).
With MySpace launching its own developer program it hopes to benefit from more outside innovation.
Steve O'Hear is a London-based consultant, educator, and journalist, focussing on the Internet and all aspects of digital technology. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
