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MySpace announced Wednesday afternoon that it has integrated the site into Windows Live Messenger and Hotmail. According to the firm, the integration allows users of Messenger and Hotmail to sync status updates between MySpace and Messenger, see MySpace contacts within Messenger's dashboard, comment on MySpace status updates within Messenger, and email MySpace contacts from Hotmail. MySpace said it will begin rolling out the beta integration of the features to their users tomorrow.

When Owen Van Natta came in as MySpace CEO in the summer of 2009, he gave valuable employees a two-part retention bonus. The first part paid out immediately. Sources tell us the second pays out in July. After it pays out, everyone expects there's going to be an exodus. Conservatives estimates put the figure at 10% to 20% of MySpace headcount.

"Real talent is shored up though," says one source, who also points out that at cost-heavy MySpace, "attrition is not necessarily a bad thing." Yesterday, MySpace co-president Jason Hirschhorn announced he was leaving the company. He sent employees this memo:

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A name like Lucy And The Caterpillar, for instance, conjures up images of a series of children’s book about a lovable fuzzy garden creature and its owner, Lucy. Despite our best wishes for this to be true, we know that our slightly moronic side is coming out.

However, what we have discovered is a lovely tinkering of happy acoustic pop songs with lyrics that may not contain any direct logical message, but have fun and warmth behind them. Only two songs are up for our enjoyment, but they are some of the loveliest tunes we’ve heard. The musicianship is second to none and sounds like something recorded in a big posh studio with thousands of buttons on an overpriced mixing desk.

MySpace on Monday named Dmitry Shapiro as its new chief technology officer of MySpace Music.

Effective immediately, Shapiro is responsible for all aspects of technical developments for the MySpace Music platform, including the next iteration of artist profiles and tools, as well as the overall music experience on MySpace.

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Tootling along with some shed-pop is the wonderful and laconic Cheapskate – a one-man Bluenote back catalogue, complete with teasmaid, wry looks and cheeky hooks. Treading the line between Jim Noir and a soundtrack to an imagined ’60s exploito beat movie, in Mr Cheapskate we’ve got a real packed lunch Brian Wilson.

Coming complete with a clutch of vintage instruments and sardonic wit more akin to Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, Cheapskate makes the kind of infectious ditty that will have you grinning like a simpleton. It’s the kind of music that’ll make you dance around on your rug whilst idly dreaming about razzing an E-Type through Southern France whilst smoking Gitanes.

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It takes a big man to accept his mistakes and failures. Just ask News Corp COO Chase Carey, who has done just that in relation to MySpace. MySpace was, at one time, the premier social networking site. And then it all went horribly wrong, partly due to a failure to evolve, and partly because Facebook arrived and showed there was a better alternative. Loads of MySpace execs departed, and so did many users.

But things are apparently back on the up. At least according to Carey speaking to Paley Center’s Max Robins recently. Who, according to PaidContent, said:Is it? Really? I think it’s telling that throughout the Facebook privacy row I haven’t seen anyone stating they would be leaving  Mark Zuckerberg and co. behind in order to head over to MySpace. It’s just not the social network that people talk about any more. Except when they’re criticizing it.

(Correction: This post originally and incorrectly said that MySpace co-president Jason Hirschhorn had promised a redesign of the site this summer, based on the word of two attendees. Video from the event shows that Hirschhorn promised new products in the summer, and a redesign in the fall. Skip to the 20:00 mark. MySpace management has confirmed this schedule.)Struggling social network MySpace has a major, massive, complete overhaul in the works that the News Corp. subsidiary’s dual presidents yesterday deemed a “reimagining” to the early-adopter audience at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in New York.

“This summer more product will be released than ever in the history of MySpace,” co-president Jason Hirschhorn said, during a talk that included other co-president Mike Jones. Following that, the company plans a major redesign of the site.

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Late last week saw number two social network MySpace launch its MySpace Games Lab pilot program, which will bring third-party social game developers into MySpace's offices to collaborate. Partners who tested the program early on were virtual world Meez and social developer TheBroth. Now MySpace is opening the program so any MySpace developer can participate.

In addition to Meez and TheBroth, MySpace is working with Playdom to refine and develop its platform roadmap. Top social developer Zynga is also backing the Games Lab initiative and introducing the Bangkok location to the MySpace version of its Mafia Wars game. It's worth noting, though, that Zynga's top game FarmVille is still unavailable on the MySpace platform.

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A recent news report in the Wall Street Journal shows that both Facebook and MySpace pass along information to advertisers that can be tracked back to individual profiles. This is because either the MySpace user's profile name or Facebook user ID is included in the web address, or URL, of the page that the user is viewing. When users click on ads, the advertiser can tell what page the user came from, thus revealing the profile or user ID of the individual.

MySpace and Facebook have been facing a lot of news media attacks over privacy concerns lately, with the argument that both companies are sacrificing privacy for a more open model of information sharing. This argument gains ground when it appears that both MySpace and Facebook are moving to a more open model to benefit their own relationships with advertisers, and create an "advertising friendly" space.

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THE WALL STREET JOURNAL has dumped a huge pile of manure onto Facebook's and MySpace's so-called privacy policies. Hacks at the WSJ discovered that Facebook, MySpace and several other social notworking websites have been sending data to advertising companies that could be used to find consumers' names and other personal details. This is despite promises that they don't share such information without consent.

Basically the sites have been sending user names or ID numbers tied to personal profiles being viewed when users click on ads. After reporters asked about the practice Facebook and MySpace moved to make changes and apparently Facebook has rewritten some of the offending computer code.

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