I think you are all crazy if you dismiss FB, especially as the main point seems to be a high minded principle that one company shouldn't dominate the social map.

That's all fine but we are supposed to be running a business and anything that makes that easier gets a big thumbs up (like) from me.

It would be like ignoring google and trying to get all your traffic from bing, you could get the same amount of traffic but it will take you 100 times longer & you might have gone out of business see more by then.

I think you need to step back and take a look at things from a business and marketing point of view.

* There were 500 million FB users, i think that is now 700 million (the losing users info is not reliable data & contradicts other sources)
* They are the most targeted users you have access to (even more than google)
* They don't charge
* You get to leverage their brand trust
* People trust their friends recommendations more than any sales pitch
* Daily logins by their users are extremely high
* It's the only serious competitor to google.

I could go on, are you really thinking about turning down this goldmine for a principle?

As an example of hidden depths to integration, I have seen some test results on dating sites where FB connect has been implemented and people can import their FB photos automatically. There has been a huge improvement in profiles populated with photos and consequently a big improvement in site interaction, and these were good sites to start with.

The internet, just like all new technologies, goes through cycles and I believe that we are currently in a consolidation phase and instead of fighting it we should embrace it.

p.s. On the same subject but a slightly different note, please make the news/article module compatible with google news guidelines. Google News = Huge traffic.