For Diaspora in particular, this archived article goes in depth. "What happened to the Facebook killer? It's complicated." (2012-10-02) https://web.archive.org

For Diaspora in particular, this archived article goes in depth. "What happened to the Facebook killer? It's complicated." (2012-10-02) https://web.archive.org/web/20121009223506/https://motherboard.vice.com/2012/10/2/what-happened-to-the-facebook-killer-it-s-complicated https://web.archive.org/web/20121009223506/https://motherboa... Excerpts: * The team of four young kids had little real-world programming experience. * The team found themselves crushed under the weight of expectation. * The first release, on September 15, 2010 was a public disaster, mainly for its bugs and security holes. * Google+ imitated Diaspora core features such as circles, and invested lots of money, but still failed. * The team ran low on money, and VC interested waned. * Sadly one of team members suicided.