It all started with AOL back before time as we know it -- in 1983. They tried to create a search dashboard for users, by offering “everything” a user could possible need on their home page. At its height, 30 million users were accessing the Web through the AOL software suite. AOL's attempt at a dashboard combined search, news, and networking features like e-mail and chat. But, AOL quickly went the way of DOS-osaurs, and users moved on other search engines like Excite, Alta Vista, Yahoo and Google.

But the search-networking combo idea didn’t die with AOL. Facebook seems to be championing the Internet dashboard idea. Users can already search the Web, chat, access CNN Live, utilize a marketplace, message users outside the Facebook network, and Facebook is currently developing a way to pay for items off the Facebook network. Does the future of SEO lie in Facebook? Stranger things have happened.