MySpace recently added Photobucket to their blacklist (other blacklisted companies include Imeem, Vidilife, Stickam, Revver, Amie Street, Indie911, MOG, and Sonific).

I advise my readers to go read GigaOM’s coverage of the whole event. Om Malik also talks about the five lessons for start-up companies which I can probably summarize in one: diversify your revenue sources.

Although MySpace does not allow other companies to display ads on its site, the issue raises some important questions. I’d wager that a lot of MySpace’s popularity came from the ability of users to customize their pages via various Web 2.0 widgets. Over at the Utility Belt, the opinion is “MySpace is Alienating users.” I believe this is true to some extent, but it begs the question:

Will MySpace Continue to Experience Growth as it Increasingly Controls Monetization of the MySpace Community?

Time will certainly tell. If MySpace can provide users with a similar user experience AND remove widgets, then yes. What do you think?