Presidend Obama used it to get elected. Dell will recruit new hires with it. Microsoft's new operating system borrows from it. No question, Facebook has friends in high places. Can CEO Mark Zuckerberg make those connections pay off?">This is a cached version of http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/16/technology/hempel_facebook.fortune/index.htm. Diigo.com has no relation to the site.x <!-- ADSPACE: technology/tech_special_report/fortune/top.728x90 -->

It's well known that people say and do things in cyberspace that they wouldn't ordinarily say or do in the face-to-face world. They loosen up, feel more uninhibited, express themselves more openly. Researchers call this the "disinhibition effect." It's a double-edged sword. Sometimes people share very personal things about themselves. They reveal secret emotions, fears, wishes. Or they show unusual acts of kindness and generosity. We may call this benign disinhibition.

We are the atoms within it. All living things exchange meaningful signals. They engage in conversations expressed in languages of form and color, chemicals, behavior, and sound rather that words and sentences.