i think the trend is only with the tech-crowd, we'll see if this spreads to non-techy people, but i think the myspace crowd enjoys where facebook is at right now - self expression, maximum friend count etc...

you can get value out of facebook, just add the friends who are truly in your inner-circle, or those that were and moved away.

you can also prevent yourself from being searched for, so when someone else says i can't find you on facebook, you can say a) oh, i'm not on facebook, or b) oh i have the privacy settings on, i'll send an invite to you

Hmm... Facebook is full of techie crowd. All those college people are quite competent when it comes to using the Web. All you need is one: "X purchased [porn dvd] from Y" in your feed and all your 'friends' are gonna laugh at you and ridicule you and it will leave you with sour feeling in your mouth. Or they'll criticize your tastes and judge you by the crap you buy.

Exodus from FB has already begun.

Pfft. Anyone who would ridicule me for buying porn is right to do so. Porn is freely available on the internet.

Seriously, though: I could care less about what shows up on the feeds. Anyone who would criticize or judge me for what I buy isn't among my friends, in real life or on facebook. Worried about your boss (as Doctorow says, you pretty much have to friend this one if they come a-courtin') seeing too much? Just twiddle the privacy settings so he or she only sees the most innocuous of updates.

While there are many valid criticisms of facebook, I have never worried once about the ones you listed.

Just my 2 cents.