Facebook keeps growing because of network effects, not because of all the great things they do IMHO.

Maybe now (and that's a big maybe.) But there were at least several years of growth during which Facebook could've been "taken down".

Besides, MySpace also had a huge network effect, and lost to Facebook.

Just because Facebook won over mySpace doesn't mean that they won because they did great things. They did things differently (and apparently just what was needed).

But just as people for quite some time accepted the shortcomings of mySpace until a better alternative came along, people will (and already do) accept the shortcomings of FaceBook because of it's size.

In other words. FB's introduction of various features and products work because they are big and because of the networks effects.

Case in point "Like"

"Like" is not by any metrics new or unique. It's just much more powerful when a company like FB introduces it because of their size. That goes with many other things they have introduced.

Fmail is just a freaking communication tool.

It's not solving anything new. It's taking advantage of it's ecosystem to provide something useful and unique, because of size of the network not because of the actual solution.

And that is fine. Good for FaceBook.

But let's not confuse what is a product of network effect and size with innovative thinking.

well said