It seemed Google Circles could be an improvement on this, and the original paper discussing it suggested as much, but the implementation leaves much to be desired. Shouldn't the Friends circle have more information shared than the Acquaintances circle? Close Friends might even require double mutual confirmation.
(Missed schmozz's comment below, I link we are trying to say somethig similar. Google Plus's major failing is discoverability.)
So here is where FB's Achilles Heel may lie. On one hand, it's great that it stores pictures and stuff. But on the other .. do you really want your pictures and personal information out there? (Besides, even if your profile is private, pictures can still be linked/shared, if you get the raw .jpg url.) Maybe we (as tech nerds) are just more aware of these caveats whereas most people trust FB like they would trust a family photo album under the couch.