MySpace takes down garden walls with profile sharing initiative

MySpace will for the first time allow its users’ profiles to appear on websites including Yahoo! and eBay. The data availability initiative will be rolled out over the next few weeks.

The launch marks the first time a social network site has enabled its users to dynamically share profile information with other sites. MySpace users will able to share their profile data, pictures, friend networks and videos on sites such as Yahoo!, Twitter, eBay and Photobucket.

The opt-in project will have a central page on MySpace from which users can manage content made available to the third party sites they choose to appear on.

For example, users who share their content with Yahoo! Instant Messenger will find their MySpace photo, interests and favourite music displayed to their messenger contacts directly on the IM page. Similarly, eBay profiles will be able to be enhanced with MySpace biographies, interests, pictures and videos.

Chris DeWolfe, MySpace chief executive and co-founder, says: “The walls around the garden are coming down. The implementation of data availability injects a new layer of social activity and creates a more dynamic internet.”