I agree, I think that this is a system or application that fb is trying to use to expand its user base and make fb an "integral part of the internet" instead of just another friendster and myspace type of platform.

But, realistically I don't think that email is going away for a while because its entrenched into people's habits and it provides control.

If you were to use fb's system to replace your email then you'd effectively relinquish your control over your data to fb (again).

Notedly, I want to disclaim that fb is POS. lol. I truly hate fb because of its practices and that its essentially a giant time sink without purpose. I registered my name and deactivated my account just so that no one else would use my name but I don't use it.

  I don't think that email is going away for a while because its entrenched into people's habits and it provides control.

That, and people don't seem to dislike it. Seriously, no one I know is frustrated with e-mail as a medium for communication. (Spam used to be a problem, but that was only because it got in the way of sending and receiving e-mail.)

E-mail is one of the greatest technological innovations of all time--can you think of another gadget used by a six-year old, a 106-year old, and everyone in between? Even the web doesn't quite qualify. The snail mail metaphor works, and people like it. As Wave demonstrated, the 99% of non-edge cases (none of whom work at Google) are not pining for increased levels of interaction, organization or complication when it comes to messaging. Mark Zuckerberg's criticism of e-mail, that it is too formal (or whatever), sounds like a guy with a hammer in search of a nail.

But then again, what do I know? As a non-Facebook user, I'm not exactly in the majority, and FB has proved me wrong on these issues time and again :-)

Ah, but you're missing one small detail.

For many under the age of 20, email has already gone away. They think of it like we think of our (physical) mailbox. It's slow, it's filled with junk, it's something you check once per day but it's not where the bulk of daily activity happens. And it's quaint when grandma sends you one there.

Email will stay like the physical mailbox will stay. (Much more important for business than pleasure.)

Just for clarification - I'm not trashing on Facebook. I think there are a lot of legitimate uses for it and for a lot of people it's a great tool. Just because it doesn't work for you doesn't mean it's a POS and something you should "truly hate." While I'm somewhat disappointed this event didn't live up to the hype people generated for it, I don't think this is going to bring about the fall of civilization.

I think it works great for what it is a database of photos and random stuff in general. But, I don't think that it's an effective use of time and it's being used currently mostly for stalking friends and whatnot. Which is fine, but the main issue is that the company has questionable privacy policies and a monopoly on our data.

Obviously this is an issue with many companies but none are as evident as facebook and google. Facebook has time and again shown that it has little regard for our privacy unless there's a major outcry. Even then their reaction is often to late to little.

Again for those reasons I truly hate fb and for that reason its a pos. Clearly, these are my opinions and I'm not trying to forcing anyone to comform to my opinions. It's just a small rant into space lol.

In general I'm very hesitant to speak so negatively about a company, but this is one of those few rare exceptions that I feel strongly enough about it to say something. That's all = D