Monetizing the Social Media clickstream

Social Media Club - Monetizing Widgets

Widgets are those little bits of code that you see all over blogsites, I've got a couple - a link to technocrati for example.
I've often talked about how the "clickstream" is being "monetized", cookies, ad-sense, all these things are built to give someone access to data that they can then turn into money.
Now it seems that there's a widget war going on between several Social Media sites - MySpace, Facebook, etc.
It's about real estate - well, virtual real estate at least - and who gets to hang out their hoardings, who pays and who collects.
So much for the old utopian vision of a free internet.

The Wall Street Journal is today reporting that MySpace is hooking up with the producer of the Survivor series, Mark Burnett, to create a new reality TV show called "Independent", in which people will compete for a million dollars to launch their own political campaign.
Another blow against democracy and in favour of consumerism. These guys have no morals. If there's pennies to be had, they've got their hands out.
Mr Burnett, politics is not a game show, there's enough reality out there without you having to create some more. I'd put my hand up to be a contestant - I've got a MySpace page - but I think my ultra-Trot politics would rule me out, at least according to their rules.
The revolution will not be televised, but it's coming soon to a reality show near you.
Not.