After a hectic few weeks for the social network, Facebook have made their boldest move yet: opening up the network to anyone who wants to join. The new regional networks, which were due to launch last week but got held back by the Facebook newsfeed debacle, allow users to connect with others based on their location. The Facebook folks explain that this will allow exisiting users to add friends who graduated pre-Facebook, and they stress that college and work networks will remain separate: only confirmed friends and people in your network can see your profile.
It goes without saying that Facebook users will hate this. It'll be seen as a sellout and an attempt to become more MySpace-like. The fact that the new networks are closed off doesn't matter - it's another intrusion into their semi-exclusive site. But the question is: will they switch? USpot is a viable Facebook alternative that I've already profiled, and Zuckerberg's rival Aaron Greenspan has launched CommonRoom, another competing service. But frankly, it seems that Facebook users will threaten to leave, and never carry out that threat - they're too entrenched in Facebook to abandon it now. So I expect plenty of opposition, some new anti-regional Facebook groups, but ultimately no exodus of Facebook users.
Hey Facebook Users!
Mashable's brand new shiny Facebook account is HERE - feel free to add Mashable to your friends if you sign up, or you're already a member.
