Facebook is "like" a monopoly

Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of the Facebook Corporation, didn't win the Time readers poll for the Person of the Year award.  He didn't win second or third place either.  In actuality, he came in tenth place.  Julian Assange, the head of the controversial Wiki Leaks came first in the poll with 382,027 votes.  Nevertheless, Mark Zuckerberg was awarded Time's person of the year award.  

Facebook is "like" a social media monopoly (yup that's a pun).  It has become a billion dollar industry in less than ten years.  There are over 600 million users today.  I mentioned this in my other post but it seemed like it deserves its own blog.  Facebook has become so dominant in the world of contemporary social media that other sites have become overshadowed by the masses.

Sure, Facebook isn't the only popular social media website. There are other well known sites like Twitter and Myspace.  Why would casual internet users want things like RSS readers or public bookmark sites when they already have a Facebook?  I was thinking about this in my other posts.  Why didn't I have a Google Reader or an account on Delicious?  How come I've never explored Digg or Reddit?  Why did I delete the myspace account I once had?  Why don't I ever sign on to AIM any more?  How come I get annoyed with checking my email?  Its because I'm too attached to Facebook.  

My theory is that they change Facebook drastically every so often so that you never become too bored with the layout.  The new layouts always seem like it has become a new site, but the only thing that changes is the skin of the site.

Facebook was actually sued by Power.com in 2008 for monopolizing, claiming that Facebook did "irreparable damage to its users and business" by prohibiting connections with their site.   Is Facebook actually a monopoly?  No.  Are there are great things about Facebook?  Yes.  I've just never liked when people become too dependent on one thing and turning their back to other great things.