Not sure I buy into the mall analogy. Stores don't ask you to register because you're only browsing there, not interacting with your friends and colleagues.
Can you imagine Abercrombie & Fitch allowing their customers to hang out and throw a party inside the store? Or even use their computers to access the internet and store friends' data?
It's not surprising Facebook is trying to protect their investment. They just broke up with Google. What was Google bringing to the party?
What's even more dangerous to the health of the Internet Ad Industry: search engine optimization (SEO) scams that persist because there are no SEO standards. This SEO agency near Redmond, WA was sued by the state and settled - after 4 years:
Thanks for recognizing Eric's post. One of the interesting aspects of Google's "announcement" -- when Matt speaks, people listen. But they don't always hear the right thing. Matt was generous enough to post the correct version of his talk -- and thank those for correcting their updates that misinformed readers of other blogs.
Cheers,
Kevin Heisler Executive Editor Search Engine Watch