• TechCrunch, Friday, April 24, 2009 11:45 AM

According to various reports across the Web, Owen Van Natta will be named MySpace Chief Executive later today. Michael Arrington argues that while Van Natta -- with a background in social networking, music/media and the Internet in general -- definitely has the experience to run the Web's second largest social network, "his hiring is leaving many scratching their heads nonetheless."

For starters, the former Facebook VP of Operations still owns a significant chunk of stock in that company. He's also "intimately knowledgeable" about their business operations. "At the very least it's bad form for him to join Facebook's primary competitor," says Arrington. "At worst there may be legal issues since it will be extremely difficult for him to continue to protect confidential Facebook information in his new job."

Van Natta, of course, left Facebook under less than cordial circumstances, so the revenge factor must play a role here. But what about Project Playlist, the company he left Facebook to join as CEO? He only took the job last November, less than six months ago. Arrington says walking away so quickly from a startup that has many people counting on him "doesn't say much for his character." Meanwhile, Project Playlist's business is tanking, after both MySpace and Facebook banned the music streaming service from their sites last fall.

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