MySpace has put a large quantity of bulk user data up for sale on startup data marketplace InfoChimps. Analysis coming from the data could include things like music trends per zipcode, popular URLs being shared etc.The questions to be raised here are: Are they authorized to sell these data without seeking the consent of the users? OR do the users really care regarding bulk data crunching by researchers? OR is this last resort by MySpace to monetize its declining user base?
The response of Facebook with a much larger user base remains to be seen. Facebook had faced a uproar for changing its terms of service that no longer allowed users to delete their data while leaving Facebook. Some interesting lines from Facebook CEO's blogspot [Feb 16,2009] "We're at an interesting point in the development of the open online world where these issues are being worked out. It's difficult terrain to navigate and we're going to make some missteps, but as the leading service for sharing information we take these issues and our responsibility to help resolve them very seriously. "
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