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These posts are starting to bug me. There was another new social network post the other day, also slating FB. As much as it sucks, people aren't on FB for supe

These posts are starting to bug me. There was another new social network post the other day, also slating FB. As much as it sucks, people aren't on FB for superior encryption or privacy controls - they're on there because their friends are on there. Solve that first.

masukomi 7y ago
I get the frustration but the only real "solution" to the network effect is to steal the "friend graph" from the other sites and give people an account without them asking for one. It's not realistic. It's not a problem we can "solve". People just have to be provided with compelling enough alternatives, and enough reasons to bother leaving. That being said Planetary isn't really another social network. It's just an iOS client for Scuttlebutt, which is an existing network, with thousands of users and an incredible community.
- ysavir 7y ago
  > I get the frustration but the only real "solution" to the network effect is to steal the "friend graph" from the other sites and give people an account without them asking for one. If this were true, then Facebook would have never taken out MySpace. Facebook got its foot in the door by being a social network designed for a specific niche of people (college students). It tapped into what that audience wanted and wasn't getting elsewhere, and only expanded after being _the_ platform for college students. The problem with most of the social networks today is that they want to start off as an everybody social network. I say "most" because I'm sure there are social networks out there succeeding with their target niche, but haven't yet expanded beyond that niche to a more visible entity. When they're ready, I'm sure we'll slowly hear of them more and more until they become commonplace, without having a dramatic entrance.
- beardedman 7y ago
  I somewhat disagree with this, you can't solve a human problem with something technical. Even with free accounts (which are ill advised and have been done before). Every other FB competitor entered the market with a hook that focused on being human (and appealing, a lot of times, to our vanity). Think Instagram, SnapChat and now TikTok. It's a lot harder than simply having better features, and without the user's friends.
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masukomi 7y ago

I get the frustration but the only real "solution" to the network effect is to steal the "friend graph" from the other sites and give people an account without them asking for one. It's not realistic. It's not a problem we can "solve". People just have to be provided with compelling enough alternatives, and enough reasons to bother leaving. That being said Planetary isn't really another social network. It's just an iOS client for Scuttlebutt, which is an existing network, with thousands of users and an incredible community.

ysavir 7y ago
> I get the frustration but the only real "solution" to the network effect is to steal the "friend graph" from the other sites and give people an account without them asking for one. If this were true, then Facebook would have never taken out MySpace. Facebook got its foot in the door by being a social network designed for a specific niche of people (college students). It tapped into what that audience wanted and wasn't getting elsewhere, and only expanded after being _the_ platform for college students. The problem with most of the social networks today is that they want to start off as an everybody social network. I say "most" because I'm sure there are social networks out there succeeding with their target niche, but haven't yet expanded beyond that niche to a more visible entity. When they're ready, I'm sure we'll slowly hear of them more and more until they become commonplace, without having a dramatic entrance.
beardedman 7y ago
I somewhat disagree with this, you can't solve a human problem with something technical. Even with free accounts (which are ill advised and have been done before). Every other FB competitor entered the market with a hook that focused on being human (and appealing, a lot of times, to our vanity). Think Instagram, SnapChat and now TikTok. It's a lot harder than simply having better features, and without the user's friends.

deleted 7y ago

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