>Perhaps an OSS system that spins up encrypted vm's with FB/Twitter/Email like functionality all paid for via cryptocurrency is a future I would really like to

>Perhaps an OSS system that spins up encrypted vm's with FB/Twitter/Email like functionality all paid for via cryptocurrency is a future I would really like to see The problem is that very few people want to pay for this functionality, and even fewer actually care if a database somewhere has a record of them being one of 107 million people that clicked "like" on Coke's Facebook page. To be sure, there is a small but vocal contingent of people that do care (many of them on HN), and those people will delete their Facebook accounts and perhaps try to create decentralized solutions. But the #DeleteFacebook campaign mostly went nowhere, as did the campaign to get advertisers to drop Facebook. Those that do try to create new platforms as you suggest should be aware that they will not experience any significant uptake from Facebook users without improving on Facebook's core functionality. Enhanced privacy cannot be your primary selling point. For the most part, people don't spend $100K+ on a Tesla because it is an electric car - they spend it because Teslas are awesome cars with awesome features. You would need to build the Tesla of social networks to get anyone to switch.