At what point do social networks become utilities?

On Wednesday night I had a conversation with Karri Wells about how mainstream (and huge) Facebook has become. You may have read recently that — at 175 million users strong — it would be the world’s 6th-largest country. Facebook has yet to prove a sustainable business model, but if it continues to be so pervasive in culture and society, at what point do we need to shift our perspective of what it is? Social network, or critical infrastructure? Maybe even utility: Water supply, energy grid, interstate system, Facebook.

Time will tell. This video was meant to be a conversation starter, so please add your thoughts below.