There is constant discussion about ‘value’.
One of the things that one learns as a student of critical reading is to watch for semantics that lead to spurious ‘confusions.’ I am not a fan of spurious conclusions (the real term). In fact they piss me off. But I digress. Also, being pissed off for me is like standing in a line at Disneyland. I’m still at Disneyland. In other words, I don’t really sweat the small stuff.
Oh yeah, and Spurious: Apparently but not actually valid: "this spurious reasoning results in nonsense".
Still, you can’t ignore the small stuff. So back to my point.
There is a difference between Value and Valuation.
To wit:
Value:. the worth of something in terms of the amount of other things for which it can be exchanged or in terms of some medium of exchange.
Valuation: the act of estimating or setting the value of something; appraisal.

So, as we speed down the road, recklessly calling Facebook the 3rd highest valued company on the Internet (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-15/facebook-passes-ebay-in-value-becoming-no-3-u-s-web-company.html) let us be sure to keep our terms clear.

I have a great time on Facebook. I share videos with a select group of friends. I avoid family and High School associates. I keep up with people who would otherwise live in a void in my reality. Facebook has some real benefits. But it has very little value. For me, for you, or for any company that didn’t come into existence as a result of Facebook, and the collective worth of those companies is NOT the third highest value on the Internet, in the world, or even in my backyard.

It has a high valuation. Which is speculation. It also has the support of all the right people, so it’s a good bet. But make no mistake. Its not producing value in your life (at this point) and it’s disappearance would affect the economy minimally.
Some news sources would get high rating for covering the antics of people FREAKING OUT over loss of Farmville or contact with some people, but the Internet would heal. It’s how and why it was designed – to be a rehealing communication network.

But if Google went away? Who could answer sport trivia questions? Find the hotel they are late to reach for a meeting? Discover what the effects of overeating might be?

Sure, Facebook has a ton of traffic and hype, and it’s a lot of fun? But value? Not so much.
Valuation for sure, but who will see the cash out of that? Not the people adding the value – the users.

So keep your cool, enjoy your facebooking time, and go have coffee with a friend.

Until then…..