Facebook? What's a facebook?

Facebook stock is listed this morning at $27.72. FB hit the market at $38, soared to $41.68 a couple hours later, and then started falling.  What an investment!!!  Just like buying a car. Except that when you buy a car, you buy a tool that allows you to move about. What does Facebook allow you to do?

Facebook made 85% of its money in 2011 from advertising. It's main value is its ability to shove ads in the face of its users. Never having been on Facebook, I cannot speak for the obtrusiveness of the ads, but they must be pretty much in-your-face to generate that much income.

I have heard Facebook described as a "social networking service". Interesting. What is that?  Is it a fancy way to stay in touch without communicating?  I mean, a private conversation can take place in person or on a phone, written communications have the choice of email, snail mail, or texting. Some people still have the ability to talk face-to-face. Most of those are very fast. Exactly what is it that Facebook users claim to need? Is it that they think their lives are so interesting that they need to create an online ongoing biography? In case someone out there is watching?

From what I see around me, the younger people are so into texting that they rarely use phones for speaking, and they will sometimes avoid close contact so they can go home and get on Facebook.

Could it be that Facebook is really the best and latest version of a digital drug?

 At home here we have VOIP telephones, smart phones, 3 laptops, a desktop, a netbook, a Kindle, 2 ipods, an HD TV, a Blu-Ray player, a  home theater system. I might have forgotten something, but I think I can claim that we are not  technologically illiterate. Do I have some hidden need of which I am not aware?

Facebook starts scary. Go to http://www.facebook.com/. You will see a home page that says absolutely nothing about the web site. It does seem to require you to log in to see anything. Not for me. That is, unless you can convince me otherwise.