Facebook Expands Into MySpace’s Territory

NYT: Facebook Expands Into MySpace’s Territory
By BRAD STONE
Published: May 25, 2007

SAN FRANCISCO, May 24 — With an ambitious strategy for expansion, Facebook is getting in MySpace’s face.

Facebook, the Internet’s second-largest social network, was originally popular on college campuses, but over the last year it has opened its dorm-room doors to all, and its membership rolls have exploded at triple-digit growth rates.

Now Facebook, based in Palo Alto, Calif., is inviting thousands of technology companies and programmers to contribute features to its service. They can even make money from the site’s users by doing so, and, at least for now, Facebook will not take a cut.

Some of the new features, demonstrated by software developers at a Facebook event here on Thursday, will allow members to recommend and listen to music, insert Amazon book reviews onto their pages, play games and join charity drives, all without leaving the site.

The result is expected to be a proliferation of new tools and activities for Facebook’s 24 million active users, who have largely been limited to making online connections, sharing photos and planning events.

The move could foster some of the chaotic creativity that is more closely associated with MySpace, its larger competitor. It could also open the door to hazards like spam, and make Facebook’s identity less clear....

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/25/technology/25social.html

show and Wales said that Facebook has better built-in security features than My Space. As Facebook opens up, that claim will be tested.

...that Facebook is very popular over here with political activists. More so then Myspace (at least where the UK is concerned.)