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The one thing that Facebook seems to understand and do extremely well is identify real-life experiences that are social, as in we tend to do them with others, and figure out how to translate that into an online experience.

Do you go parties with friends? Ok – here’s “Facebook events” where you can set up parties with friends.

Do you take pictures with friends and then want to share them? Ok – let’s allow you to digitally connect your pictures with all the people who are in them.

Do you like talking to your friends? Ok – let’s make it so you can talk publicly (the online version of the whiteboard on the dorm door), privately (like sending notes in class) and in real-time with chat.

And that’s just the beginning. Over it’s entire history Facebook has strategically added to it’s core applications and functions things that mimic our real life relationships and how we interact with each other. Making it extremely addictive and hard to quit.

And now that they’ve covered the basics, they’re branching into more specialized territory – people love to shop with other people. You may want an opinion on your outfit, or suggestions on what to buy. And with the Amazon-Facebook integration it’s going to be that much easier to achieve the digital version of a shopping trip with friends.

It’s updates like these that make me think Facebook is here to stay, despite any issues they may have along the road. It won’t be as easy for a new-comer site to achieve the level of integration that Facebook has in all our lives. Remember MySpace? It doesn’t compare anymore, MySpace never had this kind of omnipresence in our lives. To be completely frank – neither does Twitter (yes, I said it – want to debate it? leave a comment).

“Facebook’s mission is to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.” – I think they’re well on their way to achieving that and this Amazon move is completely in line with that mission. What do you think?