Ty, I think the more appropriate analogy here is that MySpace built an empty house, but its users filled the house with their own creative works. Now MySpace is pissed that someone’s artwork is showing an advertisement.

Of course, it’s their house so they get to say what goes and what doesn’t. But when their entire business model depends on the contributions of users who have questionable loyalty, I wonder how much they can try and control it before the golden geese move elsewhere.

True – Revver’s model is one way to compensate a creator.

“MySpace is unwilling to budge on third-party widget makers advertising on its space, so no resolution is in sight.”

False – Myspace seems to not like revver’s model and hence baned them and photbucket’s similar use of that model.

If I built a house and strangers randomly invited people I didn’t know inside offering them my ammeneties then I’d be pissed too.

Isn’t that obvious?

Pay Attention, because soon, everyone is going to get blipd!

Alex, thanks for the additional information. I’d love to talk about this strategy more if you’re ever in SF.

MySpace has always been a negigible source of traffic for us. Myspace is only important to us in that we want to ensure that our creators can earn money for their creativity and our sharers can earn money for their promotion on any site out there, Myspace being one of them.

Myspace began blocking new Revver embeds in late January, meaning there wouldn’t have been an immediate traffic drop from Myspace embeds until user profiles were updated – so that certainly wouldn’t explain the small fluctuation in traffic that the graph shows for January. While the graph may correlate to the argument, the actual causes for small fluctuations in traffic are many and varied. Myspace’s ban on Revver videos has done little to affect our traffic, and, by proving that creators cannot rely on third parties such as Myspace to always act in their interests, has had the opposite effect of validating the original business model that Revver has always pursued – empowering creators and sharers to monetize their content while controlling the look and feel of their own sites and brands.

To this end we’ve developed the most robust and full-featured API in the industry, even using it to power our own site. Partners such as VH1′s Acceptable TV (http://acceptable.tv) show just how much you can do with the API. We’ve also developed an incredibly customizable JavaScript widget that enables creators and sharers to easily add rich – and monetized – video content to their sites – entire sites are sprouting up around this easy to implement solution. We’ve got a few other tricks up our sleeves that you’ll be hearing about in the coming weeks as well.

The Myspace ban has proven one thing above all – that creators that are serious about their trade and about their brand cannot rely on third parties such as Myspace. Myspace has always argued that other companies have built their fortunes “on Myspace’s back” – that couldn’t be further from the truth. Myspace built its fortune on its user base – the age of those users giving companies like Myspace all their hard work is coming to an end. Users increasingly see the value of the content they are creating. It won’t be long before users migrate to their own blogs and sites where they have final say over what content is and isn’t allowed – and Revver is in the perfect position to empower those users.

Honestly Liz, what and where on Friendster can you use widgets? I’ve just been on a hunt and there is not a sign of a widget on the whole site as far as I can see – unless I’m missing something? Please ask Friendster what they mean by widgets and where we can use them. I’m not huge fan of MySpace, but as far as I can see it’s far far more open than Friendster. Unless they integrate Snipperoo …