Making the web more social is really exciting to me, and something that I’ve wanted for many years, but having one company control all our identities?  I think that is a scary thought, and an unrealistic one.

To me, “one social graph to rule them all” is a silly concept.  There are lots of things I do socially online that I don’t necessarily want to inform my Facebook friend’s about (mainly because they don’t care, not that I am hiding something).  At one time I had my Twitter feed publishing to Facebook, but then I found out a lot of my friend’s muted my status!  I need a professional graph, a hobby graph, maybe even a “good friends” graph.

Could Facebook create options for creating your own special graphs?  I suppose so, but if they were, why haven’t they already?  And even if they did, I’d be worried of my world’s accidentally colliding (A George, divided against itself, cannot stand).

Another thing I have noticed: no one is using the Likes externally.  I know it’s early yet and I am just one account, but I have about 150 Facebook friends and… I haven’t seen 1 Like.  I’ve been watching closely and… not a one.  NHL.com was one of the early adopters of Facebook Likes.  How many people have Liked Sydney Crosby? 1,682 people.  That’s it?  Maybe people just haven’t gotten used into it yet, but until they do let’s stop the hysteria.

I was going to include my opinions on the potential of iGoogle being a competitor, but I’ll save that for another post.

EDIT: I saw my first “Like” on an external site, The Globe and Mail.  I liked the experience, but made me realize how polarizing it could be.  This particular “Like” was about an anti-abortion stance the Canadian government is right now fighting.  Could that start an unwanted argument back in Facebook world?  Also, “Like” is not a good word to use, I like CNN’s use of “share” much better.  I might not “Like” something, but want to share it.  Hopefully people will understand the use of “Like” might not actually be liked.

Why I like Google Buzz:

• It’s right beside my gmail.  Winer doesn’t seem to like this, but I do.
• Commenting on posts.   @replying is just confusing, and if you’re not attached to your twitter stream it’s sometimes hard to follow what they are @’ing about.
• The “Like” button.
• Realtime updates.
• It’s made by Google (I’ll explain below, try not to shout “fanboi” too soon)

Why I don’t like it:

• Apparently, (I haven’t looked myself) the API is very weak, and it isn’t openly compatible.
• Not available outside of gmail?
• No retweet? How do I pass on information?
• It’s made by Google (hah, see?)

Let me explain why I like that this is a Google product and why I don’t.  I love that Google is taking on this space because I know they will enhance it.  Let’s face it, there is nothing new here that we haven’t seem from Friendfeed, Facebook, or Twitter.  It’s all been done before, and as Robert Scoble points out… Friendfeed probably did it better.  Why I like Google driving it is because they will upgrade, and they’ll do it quickly.  Hopefully we’ll see Scoble’s “Super Tweet“, and all the other requests we’ve seen from the tech community that Twitter had been hopelessly slow to implement.  I also like Google doing it because my friends and family will actually use it.  (Please, oh please, get them off Facebook.)  And what about enterprise?  I haven’t had a chance to check out if this will integrate into Google enterprise offerings, but I would love to see this integrated.  Will most employers use Yammer?  Probably not.  But Google buzz is a better possibility.  Since all the advertising hype is centered around Social Media these days, is using Google enterprise products giving a company an online competitive advantage?  How long will it take for Buzz posts to commonly show up in Google Social Search results or Google Realtime results?

At the same time I’m excited about using Buzz I’m also afraid I’m using Google’s multi-colour bricks to seal myself into a Google corner.  I already use almost every service they make available, is there a danger Google having too much control?  I am worried to see the innovation on the internet sputter just like OS development with Microsoft.

Another quick thought: Is Twitter’s openness also a huge liability?  I already have 50 Buzz friends, almost entirely from Twitter.  Will I need Twitter in a Month?

When I see Facebook climb as high as they have I can’t help but think if its only going to make the fall that much more painful.  Is Facebook is a serious Internet tool or a seriously fickle trend? (fer sure!)

I’m not a huge fan of Facebook, I’ll get that out of the way before I write anymore.  It is a gossip site; the only different between Facebook and People.come are the people you’re reading about.  I also disagree with their policies on not supporting open standards.

That being said, they are HUGE.  How can you discount one of the most visited sites on the internet as simply being a trend?

Facebook is taking advantage of how people are currently using the internet, on a massive scale.  People like using Facebook as a one-stop-shop for all those social needs.   But what happens when the social internet turns into the many-stop-shop.

The internet in ‘09 will be about identity.  Being who you are, anywhere.

Facebook Connect is a service that lets you take your identity on a ride around the internet.  So when you visit People.com you can see which of your friends are gossiping about which celeb (and in turn you can gossip about the gossipers).  I think Facebook will actually make a lot of progress with their Facebook Connect functionality, initially.  When comparing Facebook Connect to Google’s friend connect and OpenId it is a world ahead.

Data portability isn’t just a technical idea though, there are a lot of social implications here.  It is removing the anonymity from the internet.  It’s giving you your identity back.  Do you really want a company (and I’d argue a company who really isn’t liked very much) to represent who you are?   This is me we are talking about here, not salsaguy786 (although I can salsa dance with the best of them).  I think it will be a real social disaster if we let a corporation control our online identity, and a huge backward step for the spirit of the internet.

Will others agee is the question that will answer the question on whether Facebook is a trend.  If open standards save us Facebook will not be competing against other social networking sites, they will be competing against the entire internet.  The internet will be a giant mono-social entity.  (Imagine the gossip!)

• Twitter-like micro blogging
• Inter-site data sharing (most likely through facebook apps)
• A more effective way to absorb all the new data

Looking at Mark’s past, knowing his ambitious nature, I wouldn’t put it past him if he’s thinking of making Facebook into an operating system.  I think the industry is coming to the point where niche operating systems could be successful.  Ladies and gentlemen, an introduction to the first social-based operating system.

fPhone?  …maybe I should stay out of marketing.

Setting aside the dramatics of his statement (and not taking the prediction too literally), is he right?  How much more information are people willing to share?  Well obviously unlike transistors in a circuit, each person varies significantly in the amount of information they will share.  The more outgoing people who need to put out all the information as possible, and the shut-ins will keep everything to themselves.  But… even the most exclusive of shut-ins I will bet have at least 1 thing on the internet; next year will they have 2?

Note: My wife just leaned over, bravely battling a cold, to change her Facebook status to “… is sick.”  A very fitting interruption to say the least.

I was initially going to try and fight this bold prediction, but I have a feeling it might be spot on.