Facebook - social networks and statehood

The rise of Facebook at least gives pause for thought. If it were a physical nation, it would now be the third most populous on earth. Mark is confident there will be a billion users in a few years. Facebook is unprecedented not only in its scale but also in its ability to blur boundaries between the real and virtual worlds - and is key to the growing overlap between cyberspace and real human existence. From the users' viewpoint, Facebook can feel a bit like a liberal polity: a space in which people air opinions, rally support and right wrongs. What about the view from the top? Is Facebook a place that needs governing, just as a country does? Facebook has certainly tried to guide the development of its online economy through fiscal and monetary policy. Earlier this year the firm said it wanted applications running on its platform to accept its virtual currency, known as Facebook Credits. It argued that this was in the interests of Facebook users, who would no longer have to use different online currencies for different applications.

Like any ruling elite that knows it relies on the consent from the ruled, Facebook seeks advice from its members on questions of governance. It allows users to vote on proposed changes to its terms of service, and it holds online forums to solicit views on future policies.

Perhaps Facebook is less a nation than a giant transnational movement - comparable to the Red Cross or the Catholic church - which has an overarching aim and can speak to governments on something like equal terms. Facebook may also influence how governments supply services, and compete to provide them. For instance, the firm allows members to use their Facebook profiles to log into other sites around the web, creating a sort of passport. And then there is the question of how social networks will change politics. Clearly, they help to stimulate discussion and marshal action, and they let governments trawl for and test proposals.

As Facebook presents it, their mission is just to make the world more open and connected - and bring closer the "global village". Read the original article here and watch the one-on-one interview with David Kirkpatrick (Author of "The Facebook Effect: The Inside Story of the Company that is Connecting the World") at DLD09 below: