Can One-Facebook-Fits-All Last?

The Facebook dynasty is impossible to dispute, but today I find myself questioning its longevity as a mass market social networking tool. (She pauses. Waits for some sort of sign from the heavens. It is always watching...)

BusinessWeek says Facebook is not going to let the financial crisis get it down. The site plans to expand, rolling out new versions in multiple languages, recruiting top tech talent and acquiring struggling Internet startups. (Twitter, however, says thanks but no thanks to Facebook's advances.) And, if you can imagine, the Omnipresent Web site is recruiting more members. I give it 1.5 years before my grandma is on Facebook. And then will it hit its peak?

The exclusivity of Facebook is definitely long gone, but I sort of miss the days before I had 500 friends. A quick and indulgent stroll down memory lane: First Facebook was a voyeuristic place for college kids. You were friends with your roommate; then the girl down the hall; then the guy who sits next to you in Economics; then the entire Western Hemisphere including your extended family, entire office building and every single person you ever said hello to in a hostel. When did it all happen? It has revolutionized how we study, gather information, make friends, date, do our jobs, politick, witness ourselves, etc., etc., etc. How ironic that a Web site that started at Elitist University became such a populist institution.

I just wonder if Facebook can stay on top of the movement it started without recreating some of its old exclusivity. Call me a "purist," but there's something to be said for the good old days of Facebook.

Imagine if the first TV program of all time launched today. It would seem cool and revolutionary that this talking box changed the way we receive information. It would be only a matter of time before there would be several different channels for several different people. There would be more general channels and more specialized channels. There would be channels just for cooking and channels just for sex.

So, yes, I see Facebook breaking off in more niche ways to reach more specialized groups. There are already niche social networking communities out there. The reason I thought of it is that Reader's Digest is teaming up with Rick Warren (author of The Purpose Driven Life) to create a Christian Facebook. Socialnetworklist.com has more than 700 niche social networks listed.

Knowing Facebook like I do, I'm sure it will continually reinvent itself, and we'll probably see status updates from Neptune in a couple years. All I am saying is, how long can me, my mom, and my grandma live under the same digital roof? This might be the most unifying thing that has happened to the world both geographically and culturally. If this were the Civil War, the North and the South would be together under the same blue logo. It's kind of a cool thought, but can this really last?

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MY BAD: My first BusinessWeek link went to the wrong story (a different Facebook story written a day later), but the right one is up now!