MySpace has openly displayed a blatant lack of concern for user safety by installing those msplinks.com redirects . In case you need a quick refresher, MySpace has installed software that forces every outbound link (links to other sites) on any MySpace.com pages to filter through the domain msplinks.com. Each link is then redirected to the original destination.
One very dangerous effect of these redirects is evident.
The msplinks.com redirects unquestionably make MySpace users even more susceptible to fraud, phishing, viruses, and other shady dealings.
Why are these MySpace redirects so dangerous?
Before the redirects were in place, users could very easily avoid dangerous sites that may contain spam or phishing devices. Any MySpace user could quickly and easily learn the true destination (or at least initial destination) of an embedded link. How easy? Simply by hovering over the link and reading the url in the browser.
For example, if you found a comment with something like, “check out my band,” you could hover over the hyperlink to check which site it really linked to. If upon hovering it was revealed to link to, say, cheap-xxx-viagra.biz, you could easily avoid that site. Without the redirects, MySpace users were safer. They had access to more information and could make smarter decisions regarding their online safety and personal data.
Essentially, MySpace.com is denying its users the information that users need to protect themselves from online predators and data snatchers. With the present msplinks.com redirects, surfing MySpace has become a risky game of Russian roulette. MySpace users literally have NO idea as to the validity of any outbound links found on MySpace.com.
So why would News Corp decide to make MySpace.com a more dangerous place?
I can’t say for sure. But I’m guessing that user safety was a secondary concern to profit motive.
MySpace obviously profits from employing these outbound redirects.
Possible benefits to MySpace include:
- Tracking online behavior trends
- Discovering which widgets are most popular to quickly create their own versions
- Selling data to other companies
- Offering more sophisticated packages to advertisers
- Blocking user access to widgets from competing companies
- Removing links that bring traffic to competing upstarts before they gain critical mass
- Training users to be fearful and mistrusting of outbound links
Why create user mistrust for outbound links?
Simple: If less MySpace users decide to click off-site, users spend more time on MySpace.com. MySpace has millions of users, so the aggregate difference in page views would substantially increases ad impressions for on-site advertisements.
The decision to keep MySpace users hesitant about clicking off MySpace.com seems to directly align with News Corp’s recent decisions to transform MySpace into a something-for-everybody content destination.
Look at all of the new MySpace services recently launched. These new services represent a significant financial investment into MySpace.
Ask yourself this:
If you just invested bunches of money into your site and you depend on advertising for income, wouldn’t you want to create increased opportunities to display advertising?
Well, discouraging your visitors from seeking content elsewhere is a darn fine start.
What’s Your Experience
Please share your thoughts about the msplinks redirects with others on this site. How does this lashing attempt by MySpace to control it’s users’ behavior compare to Facebook’s decision to release their open platform? Or, if you feel that the msplinks.com redirects are good news for MySpace users, we’d love to hear about that too.
