Facebook might rule the world. Zuckerberg and company are counting on you to get them there.
Is this a conspiracy? Well, unless you feel threatened to login, update your status or play Mafia Wars, you're okay - for now.
What's safe to assume is that, upon reading this article from the Guardian, we can conclude that Facebook is going to be bigger than anything we've ever witnessed thus far on the internet, thanks to you.
CNN president Jon Klein's statement is definitely not void of fear and respect for Facebook as a vehicle for news and media:
"The competition I'm really afraid of is social nets. We want to be the most trusted source. But on Facebook, people are depending on their friends as news sources.
"I'm more worried about the 500 million or so people on Facebook versus the 2 million on Fox"
The golden nugget in Klein's statement is that he is fully aware that both you and your network's active participation in all things Facebook offers poses a major threat to CNN's business model. The fluid, transfer of news via citizen journalism is having major effects on how information is transferred. I had an interesting discussion with Ted Koppel about this very subject last year.
Social networks like Facebook operate with one commitment from their users interaction. Feedback and sharing are encouraged, still somewhat passively, in exchange for a free profile to do whatever you please with.
Underneath this attractive veneer is a very shrewdly assembled plan where every step of your participation adds to the value of the platform. When the transfer of information is channeled through the network, it gives it's users less and less incentive to go elsewhere to learn about news, sports or to search for information.
The more time committed to the network, the greater the revenue opportunities for Facebook. Understandably, this gain is CNN's loss. Facebook should send all of us a thank you card.
Tim Andren is the founder of Guideas, Inc. an innovation and marketing company.
