[morgante]

> not any particular app-du-jour that rides on top of the internet.

I remember the internet pre-Facebook and it definitely didn't have the same social implications. People were split across different networks, and there definitely wasn't the concept of group events.

> it's not obvious to me that people in the world are actually more materially "connected" by Facebook than they were before Facebook.

It is too me. Facebook is literally the only way I keep in touch with friends from back home and the USA.

I'm currently studying in the Middle East. It's very interesting but also could be very isolating. Without tools like Facebook and Skype, I never would have done this.