I have a feeling Facebook is becoming a bit of an integrated app holdings company. Where as Amazon and Google have turned their infrastructure to the public, Facebook appears to be using it and its large investment dollars to be building a type of decentralized(partly) tech conglomerate.

It's almost as if they took their lessons from the struggles in becoming a platform for third parties and decided that there are only a small number of core applications people use. Instead of waiting for, and having less control of these high profile apps, Facebook instead is just owning them outright.

With acquisitions, Facebook has generally left the acquired company mostly alone (if it's big and successful already). Instagram, Occulus and WhatsApp as examples. Instagram competes with Facebook in some ways, too, but it's still separate.

Their goal is more data, not less competition.

Is collecting data the goal, or simply diversification?

My theory is that Facebook (the company) is preparing for the day when Facebook (the website) goes the way of Friendster and Myspace, and they're attempting to have other lines of business when that happens.

Hmm, I hadn't considered that. It could be. I dunno. Anyway, they definitely want to keep their acquisitions pretty separate for the time being.

Slingshot is dead in the water, having fallen out of the Top 200 for its category.

Facebook must be trying for a round 3.