It seems as if Facebook is on a monumental mission to become 'all things to all men'. After incorporating the online music platform Spotify into its interface (and angering a lot of people in the process) while simultaneously extending the ability of its business pages to a level that almost eliminates the need for companies to even have their own website; it really would appear that Facebook is on its way to being the only online resource we need are able to use.
Perhaps, in a few years, we won't be interested in individual web addresses. Rather everything we use will start with www.facebook.
But is this a good thing?
I personally don't think so.
As much as I admire Facebook for what it has achieved and what it offers the world in terms of global communication, I really do fear this 'monopolisation' of the internet.
As much as I hate the way Tesco has monopolised the British grocery market I fear the fact that Facebook may do the same with the varied domain of the World Wide Web and the free speech it offers.
For a start, my job relies on the need for businesses to gain more presence on the internet. But what would happen if every business operated through Facebook? Would we be optimising Facebook pages? Building links to a client's Facebook page?
Yet if everything and everyone was on Facebook, where would these links even come from?
And would the control Facebook has over its members increase ever more? Would everything we do and say on the internet be controlled, collated and kept by Mark Zuckerburg and his team?
I realise that I ask a lot of questions and that this is all rather far-fetched speculation; but you can't deny it's not possible.
Spotify might only be the beginning. Does Facebook have plans to take over Wikipedia? Internet Movie Data Base? Our very own blogs?
Who knows? I certainly don't. But at least I can satisfy my need for unfounded and unproven theories.
Please feel free to share your thoughts: tell me I'm totally and utterly mad or that you perhaps see a little truth in what I say!
This article was written by Amy Fowler of Boom Online Marketing; an SEO agency who also offer services including conversion rate optimisation and email marketing.
P.S; if you like this article, please take a look at my real-life example of how not to handle social media!