Facebook’s success therefore depends on conformity. Why is Facebook so valuable? Because everyone (even this writer, reluctantly) is on Facebook. Why aren’t people still on Myspace, or a dozen other social media contenders?

Because the nature of the communication itself requires everyone to be on the same system, just as Microsoft a generation ago forced everyone to use its operating system and software. It is not just the so-called Network Effect, but Facebook’s raison d’etre: to advertise one’s conformity to commercial culture in a way that preserves the illusion of individuality.

via Asia Times Online :: Asian news and current affairs.