Well, the problem they're addressing is going to be solved somehow by someone, it will probably be either this or openid and xfn. I think FB has head start so far.
Passport btw, offered no benefits really for app developers, not the same case here.
Passport btw, offered no benefits really for app developers, not the same case here.
Why? The value of your "userbase" is not in your DB table, it's the users who interact with your service and arguably find it useful or fun. For many types of apps, allowing the user to interact with their friends is extremely important in achieving the above.
I don't really get your "flu" analogy, maybe you can say what you mean, are you literally worried about FB's downtime affecting your web service? that could be a valid concern for some web apps, I guess, realistically not for most.