I've been at numerous conferences in the last few weeks, and all of them have either focused on our touched on Facebook and its platform.  I agree with Dave McClure who said at Web 2.0 today that Facebook's move with f8 is the most significant thing that has happened in this space in the last 5 years, with an exception perhaps in Google's IPO.  But I want to qualify that a bit further.  I think Facebook is incredibly important, and has clearly played it's leadership hand here, but I think the real power is the fact that they have set the stage for a new era in social networking.  I've spoken about this before, so I don't want to repeat myself here.

One thing that has come up in every single panel I have been to about Facebook recently is the following question: "When do you think these apps will actually become useful?"  Now, don't get me wrong, this is a question we have asked in our offices quite often ourselves, and our answer has been what everyone else's answer is as well, which is, "The platform is still so young, and someday people will likely get tired of throwing things at each other and seek greater utility." But in all honesty, I'm not quite sure if this is the right response.

To me, a more complete response would be something like, "While things may certainly change in the future, and people may seek different kinds of apps, why is the assumption that the ones that are popular now aren't useful?"  I see huge value in the entertainment here, and I don't really understand why that seems to be a big point of contention.  The most popular widget on Widgetbox is Pac-Man - and if that doesn't bring a smile to your face (and maybe a memory of the old record store you used to hang out in), I don't know what will.  YouTube is valued mostly for its crazy viral (and usually pretty darn funny) videos, and that is not questioned.  Major blockbusters happen in the movie industry not because they make people's lives more useful, but they allow an entertaining - and sometimes thought provoking and moving - escape from reality.

This escape is important.  It matters.  Without fun in life, the rest of the things we find useful wouldn't matter either.  Sometimes it seems that everything that is valued by teenagers and young adults is looked at with disdain by the industry, and while certainly this is sometimes valid, I don't agree with that here.  So I say throw things at each other with abandon!  Enjoy sending useless gifts to your friends.  Maybe there will be a big business someday in apps that give you more information, and maybe there won't.  But no matter how it shakes out, we all need to accept and recognize that there truly can be value in the seemingly useless - if only for the giggle it brings.