Every society, real or virtual, is basically a human ecosystem and it can defy the natural laws that govern its existence. There are anthropological theories that prove that in order to survive every ecosystem should be involved in some kind of exchange with the other surrounding ecosystems or otherwise it is threatened by extinction.

The interaction moment can be postponed until the ecosystem reaches a certain degree of maturity and development but it should exchange resources, information or other things with its neighbors.

Apparently, Facebook, which is nothing more or less than a virtual ecosystem, has reached that certain point where it should start to exchange resources and data with its surroundings in order to support its internal growth.

And what better way to reach out to other ecosystems than Facebook Connect? Technologically, Facebook Connect is nothing more than another universal sign-on system that intends to solve a problem we all have faced since the beginning of the Internet: having multiple accounts on multiple sites.

In fact, from the historic point of view, Facebook isn’t the first virtual entity that tries to solve this issue. We already have similar technologies released by other Web giants, like Microsoft, Google or Yahoo.

But there are several major differences between Facebook Connect and the other technologies.

First of all, Facebook is replicating on a virtual level our society, with its complex system of relationships and dependencies.

Like the members of any other society, so far Facebook’s members have been very happy with their closed ecosystem. Now, thanks to Facebook Connect, they might start exploring the web and, most importantly, sharing their knowledge and certain pathways.

There are over 100 million Facebook members, they have knowledge and they have the skills and the tools to start another great knowledge adventure: the exploration of deep space Web.

Of course, Facebook Connect should be implemented on the third party sites as well in order to become a universal tool, but it already has the support of the biggest names of the Web and the others will probably follow.

And maybe one day after its millions of users will complete sharing their experiences on other sites with their friends, Facebook will become our gateway to the Web, as Google is now.

Of course, there are several bumps in the road, such as the privacy issues raised by sharing information about your virtual trips and actions with a bunch of people, but as Facebook has underlined in the presentation of Facebook Connect there are ways to stay safe while browsing like Trusted Authentication.

Unlike OpenID, Facebook Connect seems to be not only a simple technology but a new way to revolutionize the way we perceive virtual space. The main question is: will it make it?