Cell phone providers that offer me 2,000 minutes a month in my local calling area frustrate me. My local calling area is the entire darn planet. My social network is global: Taiwan, Ireland, Nova Scotia, Vancouver, the USA, Australia, the UK. I’m the consumer that hates roaming charges and paying long distance fees.

I mention this so you understand why I find the stated mission of Facebook – to connect the world – laughable, even fraudulent. Facebook redefines openness, so much that it seems to be  a synonym for closed.

Consider this:

• You must declare your “area” when you join – restricting you until you can prove that you have reason to stray outside the boundaries [Linked in is equally restrictive.]
• You must be at least 13 years of age to participate.
• You cannot connect to China – a Chinese regulation not a Facebook limitation.
• You cannot erase your participation – only put it in stasis.
• You cannot undo a like, the action that keeps on giving long after its usefulness
• You cannot push a button to express a dislike.
• 800 billion people don’t belong to Facebook, as promoted by Facebook – because members can register more than one persona. The numbers are inflated.
• When 800 billion people register – you can no longer call the network closed – especially when users can use their ID to log in to a multitude of other sites.

Nope – Facebook is neither closed nor open – it is an aggregator of personal data.