My point is that the underlying functionalities of Facebook are features of the web in general, not of Facebook specifically.
Facebook made them simple to use and put them all in one place and now has grabbed an impressive amount of share as a result, but they are not on the most solid of ground, as their social functionality could easily be swallowed by the browser itself, or by a clever lump of javascript.
And remember, the inline advertising is only required by their business model, not by the functionality of the service itself.
[edit] That said, I sort of agree with you that they probably have a few years before the mass exodus, I wouldn't give them a lot more than that however.
My point is that the underlying functionalities of Facebook are features of the web in general, not of Facebook specifically.
Facebook made them simple to use and put them all in one place and now has grabbed an impressive amount of share as a result, but they are not on the most solid of ground, as their social functionality could easily be swallowed by the browser itself, or by a clever lump of javascript.
And remember, the inline advertising is only required by their business model, not by the functionality of the service itself.
[edit] That said, I sort of agree with you that they probably have a few years before the mass exodus, I wouldn't give them a lot more than that however.