What makes Facebook interesting these days? Basically the same things that made AOL a star a decade earlier.

private messaging without an external email client: just like AOL!

live chat: just like AOL!

integrated games and shopping: just like AOL!

every company feels a need to be there: just like AOL!

And here we are again, with consumers converging on a single site and companies clamoring to capture their attention.

AOL was eventually done in by a lack of openness and charging for options that were free elsewhere. So far, Facebook has avoided those mistakes. It will be interesting to see what social and economic forces drive its future—and whether it ultimately becomes something other than The Next AOL.