• TechCrunch, Monday, October 13, 2008 10:15 AM

MySpace finally launched its MyAds program this weekend, which allows anyone to create and place ads on the social network. Unlike Facebook, which allows only text ads, MyAds will allow only banner ads. Will this be the moment that lifts MySpace profits from an encouraging afterthought to full fledged sustainability, like when Google decided to team search with contextual ads?

The key to MyAds is the targeting. Facebook targets users based on what is written in their profile. If you say you like T-shirts, you'll see ads for T-shirts. But MyAds will gather information on how users actually behave on the site over time, which could be much more attractive to advertisers.

Consider too that MySpace is already beating Facebook in the revenue game. Facebook will probably only generate $300 million or so in revenue this year. MySpace is ahead of it, with $850 million or so in revenue last year and a projected $1 billion in fiscal 2008.

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