Very interesting. Is it really controlled by one person? Or is facebook dependent on user's, well, using it?
If facebook went away tomorrow, would meatspace life materially change for any of its users?
A little peer pressure to affirm that Facebook is a giant waste of time, narcissistic and generally kind of silly is all it takes plant the seed to drop FB altogether. I have seen that work in meatspace.
The "what would happen if it went away tomorrow" question is not particularly useful to determine facebooks power, since it's not going to go away tomorrow.
I think the argument is about influence, not complete determination. Influence can be exercised independent from a services replacability.
If facebook went away tomorrow, would meatspace life materially change for any of its users?
A little peer pressure to affirm that Facebook is a giant waste of time, narcissistic and generally kind of silly is all it takes plant the seed to drop FB altogether. I have seen that work in meatspace.