Only a few weeks after it was announced they were giving up on Yahoo! 360, it’s reported Yahoo! is launching “MyM”, a new, self-described “social messaging” service. Currently in private beta, MyM is a web based portal for accessing multiple instant messaging and social media sites in one place. Valleywag.com is reporting that Yahoo! insiders are saying that MyM is far from ready and many are concerned that the sites Yahoo! wants to access through the service will block MyM since Yahoo! is a social media competitor. Is Yahoo! grasping at straws and stretching themselves too far? Come on Microsoft, buy Yahoo! and end the pain.

According to a new study by Industry Canada, Internet users who download music over peer-to-peer networks buy more CDs than they would otherwise. For years, opponents to the tactics record companies have employed in combating illegal music downloading have argued there is little correlation between the rise of P2P networks and the general sales decline the music industry has experienced over the past decade. Publisher trade groups have strongly rejected any attempt to attack they’re contention that music downloads take money out of copyright holders pockets. Will this latest study cause them to yield any from the litigious and political stance they’ve taken? Unlikely. Michael Geist covers the P2P study fully here.