I share some of your doubts about the whole “social networking” premise. But I have to admit to ignorance of the potential for real benefits from having 5,000 “friends” twittering and cross-pollinating ideas. I can see the *potential* benefits if the ideas being shared were smart and innovative, but mostly I see “Dude, I was totally wasted!” as the buzz phrase of choice when I look at the reality of Facebook or Twitter.

But regardless what my opinion is of the value of social networking services in and of themselves, my underlying concern regarding granting full ownership of my friend list, my thoughts/comments, and my browsing habits to a third party still stands. That third party has no reason that I can see to protect my data (other than potential user backlash) and every reason to try to exploit it for their own profit.