As someone who has never joined Facebook and is not even tempted, I have to wonder - I mean the web is not like a TV set with just channels 2-13, or even channels 2-100
The web has hundreds of thousands channels. Facebook doesn't own them any more than Google owns search - they are just better at it for now so more people tune in - build an alternative and they will come - slowly at first, but they will come.
Especially when you consider how Google+ got millions of users quickly and how Formspring.me was once described as "addictive". The only thing left is figure out how to be more entertaining than the competition and not get boring. Formspring.me loses its novelty value after a while.
However, I believe you are a minority. Few people think about creating something popular with the mass market. Most seem to want to build a "niche" product so they can buy their McMansion in the suburbs. Most people want to be engineers or entertainers, but not both.
Right! I've never joined Facebook either, and to me this blog post seems like a crack addict complaining about a monopoly in the crack business. For the life of me, I haven't been able to figure out what it is that Facebook gives people other then one more pathetic way to spend their superfluous free time.
But I'm sure that for social-net addicts this is all very serious indeed and I, or anyone else, shouldn't be taking this grave matter lightly.
The web has hundreds of thousands channels. Facebook doesn't own them any more than Google owns search - they are just better at it for now so more people tune in - build an alternative and they will come - slowly at first, but they will come.