I couldn't agree more. I look at the multitude of apps that have been developed for facebook, and I can't help but think that the original facebook product that

I couldn't agree more. I look at the multitude of apps that have been developed for facebook, and I can't help but think that the original facebook product that exploded like a virus was much different than what we see today. Remember the original facebook? Maybe you weren't in college and didn't have access. It was a much simpler model than what you see today. I look at facebook and am sometimes overwhelmed by how cluttered it can be. I always thought facebook was a response to myspace, which had become a mess (in my opinion). I think facebook is going down that road--at which point do apps have a negative return on the user experience? Too many bells and whistles can cause a tool, site, application to loose its functionality. If this begins to happen, facebook is likely going to cut off these unnecessary appendages, and I don't think they will face the same legal issues microsoft did. It may not be tomorrow or even in the next decade. But at some point, this is a very real threat. If you're building something that you want to last, avoid dependence and take a hard look at what life lines your business depends on. Final thought: remember why you used google over yahoo? It was the blank, white space. Simple. And it was better. Lead with a useful product and simple design, and the users will come.