Straw man. Facebook is a company whose purpose it is to make money by offering social connections. The fact that Facebook does this by having a network presence is coincidental -- the network aspect of Facebook's business is a means to an end, and the means could be something else with no change in the company's goals.
In principle, Facebook could accomplish its ends with two cans and a string across the back fence. Different technology, same goal.
> But the universe isn't a technology because...
Do try to think this through.
My point was just because something is built on top of a technology does not mean it's not a technology itself. If you follow that all the way back, you find yourself defining the universe.
So your plan is to refuse to draw a distinction between the company and a tool used by that company?
> It's certainly possible to have a company without a a product, but it certainly won't be a terribly successful company.
That's a different topic. We're discussing whether Facebook is a company or a software application. It's a company that uses applications -- software -- to accomplish its purposes.
> My point was just because something is built on top of a technology does not mean it's not a technology itself.
So, by your argument, Ford Motor Company is actually a car, not a company that builds cars? Corporations and technologies are distinct and operate by different rules.
> If you follow that all the way back, you find yourself defining the universe.
No, actually, if you follow that all the way back, you find yourself defining the universe in an absurd way. Companies and software applications aren't the same thing -- unless you think a chestnut horse is the same as a horse chestnut. And why not? They're described using the same words.
Facebook is a tool designed and built to solve a set of problems. If that is not technology in a core sense, I don't know what is.
Facebook's purpose (sell social connections) and its method (networking) are distinct and separate. Facebook could accomplish its objectives in any number of ways -- networking is coincidental to the company's purpose.
A helicopter and an airplane both fly people through the sky in a controlled fashion but they use different methods. Does that make either one less of a technology than the other?
I just don't see how your argument makes any sense. It almost seems like a non sequitur.
Facebook isn't an application, it's a company that makes money by creating and maintaining a social forum. Facebook may use computer software "applications" to further this end, but one mustn't confuse the method with the goal, especially when one considers that the same goal could be achieved using different methods.
> I just don't see how your argument makes any sense.
Yes, I can see that. You also think Facebook is an application, like Excel. It isn't, it's a company.
