America Online was just about the only way the older folks of the general population knew how to access this virtual world 10 years ago. They had access to their email, news, games – what else is there to do on the internet anyway? Facebook offers some of the same internet comforts as AOL did then. With online shopping coming to Facebook, in the future these AOL-trained users will never need to leave Facebook to experience most of what the internet has to offer.

So why are people complaining? It’s simple – Facebook used to be a place for young people. Teenagers and college kids who made Facebook what it is today have seen their young, cool web social gathering turn into a mass appeal product whose doors are now open to all ages. Mothers, Fathers, Aunts, Uncles, and even grandmothers are all jumping on to Facebook. Some are there to check out what all the hype is about, some to be hip and cool, some to monitor their children’s activities, some just to have a connection with the children who have moved away to live in other parts of the country or world. Regardless of the reason, young people see this as an invasion, and at some point will begin looking for another hangout that doesn’t include anyone in their family that can monitor their online activities. I hear the quickest way for a younger person to leave facebook is for them to get a friend invite from their mother. I won’t get into the psychology of any of this. If you have been a teenager before, you understand.

I believe Facebook understands their population equation and the variables that influence the long term success of the site and the community. They have gone to great lengths to make privacy a big part of their platform, and users have the option of choosing what they share and don’t share with their friends. This is all in an effort to empower their users, and prevent mass exodus. However at some point people will get tired of adjusting settings for everything just so Mom can’t see my pictures from the party the other night. At some point a competitor to Facebook is going to come along and market their community to young people as the new cool hangout. Then we can watch the cycle start all over again, with older people following the younger crowds to the next big thing on the web. Facebook will ultimately end up like AOL – an internet legacy struggling to be relevant.

I may be getting ahead of myself, but 1-800-Flowers has made a large step forward in world of online retail, and I suspect this will open a floodgate of other retailers setting up boutiques in the ‘Facebook Mall’. Lots of major retailers already have fan pages on Facebook, and I suspect a lot of online decision makers for these companies will be watching this play closely and at least begin cost analysis and research for developing their own stores on Facebook.

To me, this seems like a great opportunity for a company like Alice.com, whose sole focus is to bring CPG goods direct to customers from manufacturers, to create a version of their site on facebook, allowing Facebookers to order their toothpaste and toiler paper before logging off for the night. Think about it: I’m on facebook, checking my messages and taking the latest quiz 27 of my other friends have taken, and I get a message in my inbox from AliceBot, who nicely reminds me that based on my purchase history of toothpaste of the last 3 months on Alice.com, that I should re-order toothpaste because I am probably running low. It also suggests 5 other items to add to my order so I can checkout with Free Shipping. But instead of sending me to Alice.com, they direct me to the Facebook Alice Store, where my ‘cart’ has already been prepared for me, because I connected my Alice.com account and Facebook accounts previously with Facebook Connect. I’m ready to checkout, so I whip out the credit card and place my order. I then proceed to look at a few of my friends photos and log off. No need to leave facebook for everything I need to do on the internet.