Facebook is NOT a Nation-State

News alert: Facebook is NOT a nation. Not by any definition of the word. I'm going on a limb and also predicting it will never reach any kind of sovereign status either. That fact that I need to say these things is a little absurd. I know this article is only playing pretend, but I think the less we idolize social networks and simply recognize them as the fun and useful tools they are, we will all be better off.

From The Economist,

If Facebook were a physical nation, it would now be the third-most populous on earth. And if the service continues to grow as rapidly as in the three months to July, it will reach one billion in about 15 months—almost the size of India. Not least because of its gigantic population, some observers have started to talk of Facebook in terms of a country. “[It] is a device that allows people to get together and control their own destiny, much like our nation-state,” says David Post, a law professor at Temple University, Philadelphia. For more on social networks and statehood see article.

Hmmm. Has Professor Post ever been on Facebook? Unless I forgot to join the "Control Your Own Destiny" fan page - I am completely lost as to how he can say something like that with a straight face!

Don't get me wrong - I love social media and Facebook as much as the next guy - it is where I post inane things about my pregnancy and trips to the post office, where I upload photos I hope I don't look too fat in, where I stay updated on what is happening in friends' and total strangers' lives, and perhaps hear about an interesting social event once in a while.

Even using the phrase "controlling my destiny" in the loosest terms - Facebook really falls short of the tools I'd need to manage my life effectively. At best, Facebook allows me to stay marginally connected to people so that when I DO eventually see them face to face, I can at least mention I liked the picture of their new kid/dog/car/house. Facebook (like everything online) is not, and never will be, an effective or complete surrogate for real, live interactions.

The full article gushes about how cool it is that the new British Prime Minister pinged Mark Zuckerberg for some helpful tips on transparency and how social networks can help governments. Distinct from thinking Mark Zuckerberg is some kind of political role model, I'm guessing the PM was more interested in how wildly successful Zuckerberg was at pumping Facebook full of Obama propaganda during the last US election campaigns as well as unsubtly signaling to all the kids how "hip" and "with-it" Cameron is in the "well-publicized online video chat [with Zuckererg] this month."

What are your thoughts? Am I missing some of the magic of Facebook?