Stealing Facebook's groove

MySpace/iLike: MySpace is reportedly poised to buy iLike, the most popular music application on Facebook. While a small deal financially, it could give a glimpse into whether the internet’s two dominant social networks will cooperate — or go for the jugular.

Backed by former AOL executive Bob Pittman, the music-sharing site fits nicely with MySpace, which got its start as a place for bands and musicians to network before it was acquired by Murdoch’s News Corp. four years ago. But iLike’s success has been inextricably linked to its popularity on rivals to MySpace, principally Facebook.

Indeed, the social network started by a Harvard student in his dorm room has showered iLike with love, even granting the application special Facebook access as a “Great App”. In the three years since the launch of the service, which allows users to play songs they like to their digital friends, it has attracted over 50 million users.

So should MySpace succeed in nabbing iLike, it puts Facebook in an awkward position with two undesirable choices. It can continue to let MySpace attract users to its own site by way of the iLike application on Facebook. Or it could decide to lift the popular application. But that risks annoying users and undermining its up-to-now successful open platform, which invites developers to stretch their creative muscles.

While the sites have politely coexisted in the past, even as Facebook has stolen the march on its older rival and MySpace nabbed a former Facebook executive, an iLike acquisition would allow MySpace to picnic on Facebook’s front lawn like never before. But given the alternatives, Facebook may have to accept MySpace as a friend.