Go Facebook Go

Facebook announced its expanding its unofficial role as a new, internet-based communications service provider with a new ability to enable its users to call their friends via the internet.

The communications service provider position is a social network like Facebook or Twitter’s likely best play. Not only is this far more organic to the user experience (people talking to other people) but it’s also a stronger route in terms of model and monetization than the information delivery (content) play. Social networks — like all communications tools over platforms — will always have an element of breaking and spreading news, but that’s no different than what has happened over legacy platforms like TV, phones, etc. for decades. It doesn’t change that the social network is still ultimately a communications service, and therefore a communications play. A social network can be an information delivery platform in addition to being a communications service provider, but the smart approach would be to go with what’s organic to the users first (communications service), then build out the second (information delivery) later.

But what makes it all really really sexy and exciting is none of the above but that telecom is about to disrupt due to the internet in a big way, and that means internet companies like Facebook could become telecom competition, or even better for investors, a telecom acquisition. It’s a little more complicated than it sounds, of course, and it’s early. But for almost a decade carriers have kept voice calling via the internet mostly to themselves, and away from mass consumers. That’s about to change.

Facebook’s smart to start with a format that’s already being used by internet users (video) — that’ll make the eventual steps towards proper voice phone calls easier later on. It’s also always been wise to keep the position of fostering communications between its users. If it keeps focused and structured, some very interesting opportunities could come for the company down the road, even without it owning internet infrastructure itself. +1!