What started as what I think was an honest post; contrary to Rex Hammock who thinks it was more calculated or Fred Wilson a VC with a vested interest in anything Web 2.0 who calls the post linkbait, Jason Calacanis declared Facebook bankruptcy.

The exchange that followed this original post though is far more indicative of the bubble that Web 2.0 has created. It shows that while Web 2.0 professes openness people will climb into a walled garden as long as it has the presumption of being cool.

And leading the charge into this month’s coolness is our own Robert Scoble who is likening the networking within Facebook to his rolodex of the 70′s and 80′s. For him Facebook is the new business card and the new media distribution network that is being driven by the “best names in tech“. I wonder though if these are the same cool folks that he said in a comment to one of my posts that had moved to Pownce because it was cool.

I still remember when Twitter was the cool place to be for Robert but then that changed to Pownce and now it is Facebook – what will it be next month. After all Web 2.0 is all about coming out with the next best cool thing. First it was MySpace then Twitter lit up SXSW and became the darling to be followed by Rose’s Pownce.

The thing that gets me about this whole thing is that while at Microsoft Robert was all about espousing openness but now he is chiding Jason because he wants to step back an re-evaluate the benefits of being kept behind a proprietary wall. While Jason questions the time investment required to play with the cool people and whether things like Facebook are really the end all be all we have Robert signing the praises of a closed system where he can do everything within its ecosystem.

Where Twitter; and even Pownce, gave us an open social network that was simple to use Facebook wants to re-write the web in its own language. For developers who truly believe in an open web this presents what should be a quandary of ethics. Forsake the values of an open web and climb on the Facebook API or stand apart and not be a part of the cool crowd. Do we really need another Microsoft of the web?

I agree with Rex when he writes:

But, as I?ve said before, unless we?re all willing to give up everything else we love about the nature of the Internet, then Facebook is not the golden fleece (or holy grail ? but since this conversation was started by someone named Jason, I thought I?d head in the direction of that metaphor). Frankly, Facebook is not even close to being what will ultimately be that thing which alters fundamentally the way in which we relate and communicate. It may show us the way, but there are some important factors related to personal identity and social interaction that Facebook - or any platform that requires us to create community that is locked inside a wall - will not be able to overcome if it is to become the next be-all, end-all.

Facebook is a fad – a Web 2.0 walled garden – being glamorized by people like Robert but as with all fads it will be replaced by something newer and cooler; and chances are Robert will be leading the charge with the newest flavor of kool-aid. Then what will your time investment in things like Facebook be worth?