I have no answers here, only questions. Questions because we could be on the verge of a whole new internet conceptualization. Perhaps not a 3D internet, but a reconceptualization of what it means to have websites, email providers, search engines, and social networking sites. Questions that have to do with Facebook.

And it all begins with the question: in the taxonomy that includes digital games, virtual reality, and virtual worlds, where do online communities lie? What is the relationship between these entities? Because, in particular, where does a website like Facebook lie? Is it even fair to call it a “website”? It is not truly a platform — or is it becoming one? With the launch of RockMelt, we now have a new browser that is highly integrated with Facebook’s website, and the concept of social media in general. Facebook, for many, is becoming their entry point into/onto the internet.

As more and more people spend more and more time on Facebook, the site has become a true site of social interaction and virtual life for millions around the world. People find people, talk to people, spend money, spend time, get into relationships, play games, play with identity, get out of relationships, make money, make things happen. All things that happen in virtual worlds, only without the obvious avatar. Facebook increasingly seems poised on the brink of providing the impetus for yet another recreation of what the Internet is and means in our lives.

So, my main question without an answer: could Facebook be living up to the dreams of the Rheingolds and Castronovas of the world who claimed that we would increasingly give over our physical lives in favor of virtual lives?