Kiss me, kill me, link me, flash me! Guest writer Peter Kazanjy explains why MySpace's new Flash tomfoolery makes YouTube just a little more fucked.

Some Valleywaggers will be familiar with the recent kerfuffle over MySpace's blocking outbound links from new Flash embeds. Already, makers of flash widgets from around the web 2.0 kumbayah fire are feeling the pain as their favorite warm, loving distribution channel turns capricious link-loveless shrew.

Of note is how little discussion there seems to be on how this could affect the one company who rode to the greatest heights on the MySpace flash embed phenomenon: YouTube. After this move, clicking new YouTube videos embedded in MySpace profiles won't pop open new browser windows with that video's YouTube page. What does this mean? For one, YouTube has now been co-opted as MySpace's offsite video host. Sure, they were that before this move, but at least they got traffic back to their site in exchange. Now, that former viral oomph seems more like a whimper.

MySpace claims that this new move is a security precaution, and you can see their point. Flash pop-ups can send an unwary user to any number of unsavory sites full of malware and bad taste. Of course, if Rupe Murdoch's true goal was "user safety with minimum collateral damage," MySpace would have a launched a "verified embed developer" program concurrently to allow trustworthy developers outbound links in their flash embeds. But if you're holding your breath for that one, I've got a new RSS-Ajax-Tagcloud-Attention Market startup I'd like to pitch you on. And a bridge to sell you.

The sad thing for YouTube is that whereas the last time MySpace made a move to hobble YouTube embeds, user outrage over not being able to see their friends hitting the beer bong made MySpace back down. This time, there would appear to be no such user outrage in the offing. As far as the average MySpaceCadet is concerned, they'd just as soon continue writing their comment about how kewl that vid was rotflmao l8r! right there on MySpace, rather than be redirected off the site as eyeballs for YouTube's advertisers. So don't expect the same brouhaha as last time. There's no user pain to stir it up.

In the plus column for YouTube, the last time MySpace tweaked them like this, the Toob was still a relative unknown. Eight months on, YouTube is a destination unto itself (unless Alexa's stats are wrong), and MySpace doesn't provide nearly as much traffic, proportionally, as back then.

Still, this sort of sub-network neutrality issue will surely become a bigger issue over the coming months, and just adds another bullet to the growing list of thorns in YouTube's side.