Is Facebook Here to Stay?

I can remember when I first got drawn into social media.  It was my freshman year of college, and CollegeClub had found its place inside my daily routine.  Then came BlackPlanet.  I can plainly remember typing  papers while chatting with 2-6 people at one time and never getting them confused. Social media taught me how easy I could multitask.

Then, I started working a lot, and while social media still had its place, its importance was quickly replaced by the need for sleep.  But as I still logged on from time to time, I saw CollegeClub lose popularity to BlackPlanet, BlackPlanet lose popularity to MySpace, and MySpace lose popularity to Facebook.  For some reason, it seems like Facebook might be here to stay.

Of course, we all have our times when we discover that our "friends" aren't as interesting as we once thought, we find ourselves venting in public forum that we later come to regret, and probably the biggest complaint: we are over-burdened with requests-- friend requests, requests to play games, to activate new apps, and to like new pages.  Even with other emerging sites such as Twitter, Instagram and Linked In, Facebook appears to be a mainstay. Some sites even tie all forms of social media, using your Facebook account to sign in.

So, what makes Facebook so popular?  Is it because things are ever changing? Do fads and crazes keep it alive?  While Bitstrips are wildly popular right now, they're actually said to be "over," meaning once there's another game or app that will soon be taking over.  Initially, I thought Facebook would be like its predecessors and fade out, but it seems like different games and apps are aiding in its relevance.  What do you think?  Is Facebook here to stay, with advancements made upon it; or will it fade out like most other social networks that came before it?