ReadWriteWeb

Facebook is a phenomenal success (at growing its network of users) and a miserable failure (at making money). Its attempts to make money have been mired in the Madison Avenue school of selling mass market stuff to consumers. This is fundamentally at odds with the trust-based, peer-to-peer ethos of social networking. If Facebook continues down this path, then the more it monetizes, the more it will drive users away. Luckily, Facebook has been handed a screamingly big and obvious opportunity that meets a massive need, will be welcomed by users, and is suited to the current economic crisis: Uncrunch America.